*   SEP      1900  * 


DG  121,^1   .053  1900 
O'Neil,  J.  L. 
Was  Savonarola  really 
excommunicated? 


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AS  SAYOXAROLA 

REALLY 

EXCOMMUXICATED  ? 


By  the  same  Author. 
Jerome  Savonarola*   A  Sketch* 

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SAVONAROLA  PICTURED  AS  ST.  PETER  MARTYR. 
(After  the  Painting  by  Era  Bartolommeo.) 


WAS  SAVONAROLA 

REALLY 

EXCOMMUNICATED  ? 

BY 

REV.  J.  L.  O'NEIL,  O.P. 

Thou  hatest  all  the  workers  of  iniquity;  Thou  wilt  destroy  all  who 
speak  a  lie.  —  Psalm  v.  6. 

Thou  hast  tried  me  by  fire,  and  iniquity  hath  not  been  found  in 
me.  —  Psalm  xvi.  4. 

Wisdom  hath  shown  them  to  be  liars  that  accused  him;  and  gave 
him  everlasting  glory.  —  Wisdom  x.  14. 


BOSTON 
MARLTER,  CALLANAN   &  CO. 
1900 


Nihil  Obstat: 

Fr.  Reginaldus  Newell,  O.P.,  S.T.L. 
Fr.  Joannes  Jones,  O.P. 

Eevisores, 

Die  26*  Octobris,  1899. 


Imprimatur  : 

Fr.  Pius  Murphy,  O.P. 
Vicarius  Congregationis  Calif orniae. 

Die  21^  Octobris,  1899. 


Copyright,  1899, 
By  Rev.  J.  L.  O'Xeil,  O.P. 


JOHX  A.  MOOXEY,  LL.D. 


A  WORD  TO  THE  READER. 


"  Now  if,  like  one  new  in  the  controversy  and 
unacquainted  with  either  side,  you  exercise  your 
judicial  character,  it  will  be  easy  for  me  to  show 
that  all  things  human  are  dubious,  and  hang  in 
uncertainty,  and  that  probabilities,  not  truths,  are 
(often)  the  result  of  our  inquiries ;  and,  therefore, 
it  is  the  less  wonderful  that  some,  disgusted  at 
the  trouble  of  thoroughly  investigating  the  truth, 
should  have  chosen  to  yield  a  hasty  assent  to  any 
opinion  whatever,  rather  than  to  persevere  with 
unremitting  diligence  in  the  search." 

In  the  spirit  of  Minucius  Felix,  whose  words  I 
have  quoted  from  the  fifth  chapter  of  liis  "  Octa- 
vius,"  ^  I  remind  the  reader  that  truth  rewards 
only  the  persevering  seeker.  Having  sought  it  in 
this  inquiry,  the  result  is  offered  to  those  who 
can  appreciate  the  Encyclical  of  our  Holy  Father 
Leo  XHl.,  on  the  study  of  history,  in  which  he 
applauds  Cicero's  famous  dictum:  "Dare  not  the 

1  Page  244. 


viii  A  WORD  TO  THE  READER. 


mention  of  aught  that  is  false ;  fear  not  the  men- 
tion of  aught  that  is  true."  In  defence  of  a  great 
Dominican,  who,  could  his  voice  now  be  heard, 
would  repeat  the  Pontiff's  words,  this  volume  is 
sent  forth  by  a  fellow-Dominican  who  is  mindful 
of  his  Order's  noble  motto:  Veritas. 

Feast  of  S.  Axtoninus, 
May  10,  1899. 


I 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Introductiox   1 

CHAPTER 

I.  Facts,  Briefs,  and  Letters   7 

II.   The  Question  of  Censures   108 

III.  Did  the  Friar  really  Incur  the  Censure 

of  Excommunication?   123 

IV.  Did  the  Friar  give  Scandal  ?   148 

V.  Conclusion   166 

APPENDICES. 

I.  The  Question  of  Obedience   175 

II.  Some  Original  Letters   181 


III.  A  List  of  Works  to  which  Special  Refer- 
ence IS  made  in  this  Volume     .    .    .    .  196 


NOTE. 


The  manuscript  of  the  followiiig  pages  was  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  publishers  during  the  summer 
of  1899. 

The  difficulties  attending  the  reading  of  the  proofs, 
on  account  of  the  author's  absence,  have  delayed  its 
appearance  until  the  present  time. 


WAS  SAVONAROLA  REALLY 
EXCOMMUNICATED  ? 


INTRODUCTION. 

DURING  a  period  of  four  hundred  years, 
writers  who  have  discussed  the  life  of 
Savonarola  have,  Avith  almost  unvarying  unanim- 
ity, regarded  as  an  admitted  portion  of  the  Friar's 
eventful  career  the  supposed  fact  of  his  excom- 
munication. The  question  which  we  propose  is 
not  new;  it  was  raised  and  warmly  discussed  in 
Savonarola's  day;  but  with  the  exception  of  con- 
temporary supporters,  and  of  a  few  modern  de- 
fenders, advocates  of  the  Friar  have  generally 
confined  themselves  to  a  protest  against  the  harsh- 
ness and  injustice  of  the  censure. 

The  matter,  therefore,  seemed  closed  to  all 
discussion  touching  the  validity  of  the  excommu- 
nication, and  though  earnest  students  of  his  life 
have  been  sorely  puzzled  over  the  trying  contra- 
diction presented  in  Savonarola's  history,  —  an 

1 


2       WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


excommunicated  man  the  object  of  saints'  venera- 
tion, —  they  have  deemed  it  more  prudent,  in 
default  of  convincing  evidence,  and  despite  the 
learning  and  vigor  with  which  the  Friar's  cause 
has  been  sustained,  to  follow  what  theologians 
call  "  the  safer  side."  Thus  the  case  seemed  des- 
tined to  remain  in  confusion,  if  not  in  mystery, 
until  an  Italian  Dominican,  Father  John  Lot- 
tini,  the  successor  of  Savonarola,  as  present  Vicar 
of  Saint  Mark's  Congregation,  re-opened  the 
question. 

This  writer  does  not  enter  into  any  canonical 
contention  as  to  defects  in  the  Brief  of  excom- 
munication ;  he  does  not  enlarge  upon  legal  con- 
ditions unfulfilled;  he  simply  but  clearly  draws 
attention  to  the  nature  of  the  pontifical  command 
and  of  the  censure  attached,  and  claims  that  the 
Friar  did  not  commit  the  prohibited  acts,  and  that 
consequently  he  did  not  render  himself  amenable 
to  the  penalty  of  excommunication. 

As  a  result  of  my  investigations  I  believe  that 
Father  Lottini  has  sustained  his  plea,  that  he 
has  shed  light  where  it  was  most  needed ;  and  I 
availed  of  his  argument.  Believing,  moreover, 
that  a  precise  presentation  of  all  the  facts  bear- 
ing on  this  case  will  serve  the  cause  of  true  his- 
tory, and  that  the  interest  awakened  in  the  life 
of  Savonarola,  coincidently  with  the  celebration 
of  the  fourth  centenary  of  his  deatli,  is  not  only 
sustained  but  enhanced  ;  and  being  eager,  not  for 


INTRODUCTION. 


3 


partisan  criticism  or  adulatory  apology,  but  for 
further' testimony  in  the  name  of  Truth,  I  entered 
on  this  study,  having  one  aim  and  purpose,  —  the 
finding  of  the  truth. 

With  this  end  in  view  I  have  spared  no  pains 
to  make  mj^self  familiar  with  all  the  documents 
bearing  on  the  case.  M}^  task  was  rendered  com- 
paratively easy  by  the  work  of  Italian  and  French 
scholars  who  have  made  the  special^  study  of 
Savonarola  the  object  of  their  devoted  labor  for 
many  years.  In  mentioning  the  names  of  Marchese, 
Cappelli,  Gherardi,  Cittadella,  Guasti,  Villari, 
Luotto,  among  others,  I  refer  to  men  who  have 
vindicated  the  truth  as  contemporary  letters, 
despatches,  and  documents  of  Savonarola's  time 
and  his  own  authentic  writings  have  revealed  it. 
Father  Louis  Ferretti,  editor  of  the  Italian  Maga- 
zine Quarto  Centenario  della  Morte  di  Fra  Giro- 
lamo  Savonarola^  has  also  rendered  praiseworthy 
service  in  the  same  good  cause.  To  Father  Fer- 
retti I  am  greatly  indebted  for  unfailing  courtesy 
and  for  generous  help  in  making  researches  for  me 
in  Florence. 

To  the  compilation  of  Father  James  Quetif,  a 
seventeenth-century  French  Dominican,  I  am  also 
under  special  obligations.  Another  Frenchman, 
F.  T.  Perrens,  was,  in  recent  days,  a  diligent 
student  of  the  Friar,  and  his  fellow-countryman 
Father  E.  C.  Bayonne,  O.  P.,  spent  many  years  in 
gathering  original  documents  bearing  on  Savona- 


4      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


rola's  life.  Father  Bayonne  published  in  1880  three 
volumes  of  the  Friar's  spiritual  writings  which  are 
still  available ;  but  his  Study  was  withdrawn  from 
circulation  in  deference  to  the  extreme  sensibili- 
ties of  certain  French  prelates  whose  timidity 
Avould  scarcely  allow  them  to  grant  a  nihil  obstat 
to  Pastor's  Avork.  But  that  was  before  Leo  XIII. 
had  opened  the  secret  archives  of  the  Vatican. 
Only  within  a  few  months  have  I  been  able  to 
command  a  copy  of  Father  Bayonne's  excellent 
volume.  Simultaneously  I  learned  that  I  had  been 
misinformed,  when  I  published  my  "  Sketch,"  as 
to  the  nature  of  the  "  censure "  passed  on  his 
Study.  I  take  great  pleasure  in  bearing  testimony 
to  its  moderate  tone,  its  general  merit,  and  in 
paying  a  tribute  to  the  devoted  man  whose  gener- 
ous labors  deserve  high  praise.  I  have  made 
free  use  of  this  book.  I  have  also  studied  the 
Friar's  sermons,  particularly  those  delivered  dur- 
ing the  period  of  the  excommunication,  so  that  I 
might  clearly  know  his  own  mind.  Indeed,  I 
may  have,  at  times,  unconsciously  presented  his 
sentiments  and  arguments  without  the  formality 
of  special  reference. 

Prudent  readers  wdio  may  follow  this  inquiry 
will,  in  a  spirit  of  equity,  consider  these  facts  per- 
taining to  my  authorities,  and  in  this  light  their 
calm  judgment  mil  not  be  unduly  swayed  by  the 
too  positive  utterance,  even  of  a  great  writer,  with 
whom  Savonarola  has  been  neither  an  object  of 


INTRODUCTION. 


5 


original  research  nor  a  factor  of  more  than  second- 
ary and  passing  importance.  Some  of  the  letters 
and  documents  given  in  this  brochure  have  never 
before,  so  far  as  I  can  ascertain,  been  translated 
from  their  original  Latin  or  Italian.  A  few  have 
been  issued  in  English,  but  the  series  now  appears, 
for  the  first  time,  newly  translated,  complete,  and 
in  chronological  order,  in  one  volume.^ 

To  enable  the  reader  to  group  the  evidence,  I 
consider  it  desirable  to  give  a  concise  account  of 
the  facts  leading  to  the  excommunication  of  Savona- 
rola, and  intimately  connected  with  it.  Into  this 
account  and  as  the  main  part  of  it,  the  Briefs  and 
letters  of  Pope  and  Friar,  with  other  documents  of 
essential  testimony,  are  woven,  without  needless 
comment  or  irrelevant  gloss.  Due  reference  is  also 
made  to  the  evidence  of  men  who  actively  shared 
in  Savonarola's  struggle. 

To  this  momentous  chapter  of  the  great  preacher's 
absorbing  career  I  add  such  reflections  on  the 
principles  of  canon  law  and  theology  as  I  judge 
necessary  for  a  proper  elucidation  of  the  case. 

1  The  Florentines  began  the  year  with  the  Feast  of  the 
Annunciation,  March  25,  whereas  the  Romans  commenced  with 
January  1,  as  we  do.  Forgetfuhiess  or  ignorance  of  this 
fact  has  occasioned  confusion  in  some  liistories  of  the  Friar. 
Failure  to  assign  the  correct  dates  to  several  of  Savonarola's 
letters,  and  to  Alexander's  Briefs,  has  placed  the  former  in  a 
false  position  and  represented  him  as  an  aggressor,  where  his 
attitude  was  only  that  of  respectful  defence.  Gherardi  and  Bay- 
onne  liave  rendered  special  service  in  the  work  of  verifying  the 
dates  of  important  documents. 


6       WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


The  application  of  these  principles  to  the  facts  will 
form  my  conclusion.  As  I  hope  to  bring  out, 
within  a  short  time,  another  small  volume,  answer- 
ing the  question  Was  Savonarola  a  prophet?" 
and  as  I  intend,  please  God,  to  give,  later  on,  fuller 
development  to  my  recently  published  "  Sketch," 
embodying  the  Prior's  letters  and  characteristic 
extracts  from  his  other  -writings,  with  a  viev/  of  his 
inner  life,  —  practically  new  ground,  at  least  for 
those  familiar  only  with  English  —  the  studious 
reader  will  recognize  that  this  seemingly  frag- 
mentary treatment  is  necessary  for  the  harmo- 
nious effect  of  my  entire  plan. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


7 


I. 

FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 
■  1495. 

WITHOUT  narrating  in  detail  all  the  events 
preceding  the  supposed  excommunication 
of  Savonarola  I  may  remind  the  reader  that  the 
"  contradictions  "  which  his  sermons  had  occasioned, 
the  enmities  which  his  reforms  had  aroused,  the 
"  interests  "  ^  which  his  salutary  measures  had 
threatened,  uniting  in  a  spirit  of  revenge,  had 
concentrated  their  embittered  energies  at  the 
Roman  Court,  where  the  Pope  was  overwhelmed 
with  misrepresentations  and  calumnies  of  the 
zealous  Florentine  preacher.  His  opponents  desired 
to  silence  his  powerful  voice.  Slanderously  ac- 
cusing Savonarola  of  teaching"  heretical  doctrine, 
and  of  being  the  chief  cause  of  the  Florentines' 
refusal  to  join  the  League  against  the  French,  in 
which  Alexander  VI.  was  interested,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  awakening  his  suspicion  and  provoking 
his  anger  against  the  Friar.^    For  several  months 

1  Chiefly  of  usurers,  keepers  of  immoral  resorts,  self-seeking 
politicians,  dishonest  merchants,  and  libertines. 

2  See  Villari,  ii.  2;  Cappelli,  pp.  65,  6(),  109;  Burlamacchi, 
p.  551 ;  Nardi,  L.  ii.,  p.  58 ;  Luotto,  chap.  29. 


g        WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


the  flame  had  been  diligently  fanned  by  Cardinal 
Ascanio  Sforza,  a  brother  of  Ludovico  "  the  Moor," 
the  usurping  Duke  of  Milan,  who,  though  he  had 
been  the  immediate  cause  of  precipitating  the 
French  expedition  of  1494,  had  subsequently 
become  the  political  enemy  of  Savonarola  because 
the  Florentines  refused  to  relinquish  the  French  alli- 
ance. The  Prior  of  St.  Mark's  was  regarded  as  the 
instigator  of  the  policy  of  the  Republic.  Somenzi, 
the  Duke's  ambassador  to  Florence,  shamefully  abus- 
ing the  privileges  of  his  position,  plotted  against 
the  Friar,  on  whose  "  impious  ways  "  as  a  friend 
and  supporter  of  the  existing  Florentine  Govern- 
ment Somenzi  bitterly  commented.^  Among  the 
Arrahhiati  he  found  ardent  co-operators,  and  he 
was  also  ably  assisted  in  his  nefarious  work  by  the 
Milanese  envoy  at  Bologna.^ 

Shortly  after  Lent,  1495,  the  Pope  made  a  special 
effort  to  detach  the  Florentines  from  the  French, 
and  sent  an  accredited  agent  for  this  purpose, 
Master  Albert  of  Orvieto.  His  diplomacy  failing, 
the  Arrahhiati  and  other  opponents  of  the  re-es- 
tablished Government  easily  succeeded  in  convinc- 
ing the  papal  envoy  that  his  want  of  success  was 
due  to  Savonarola,  and  that,  as  he  was  the  greatest 
obstacle  to  the  Pope's  plans,  the  Friar  should  be 
driven  from  Florence.^ 

1  Del  Lungo,  N.  5.  Cappelli,  p.  66. 

^  Id.,  pp.  64,  65.  Tlie  Arrahhiati  had  plotted  for  the  same 
end  during  the  preceding  year.    (Luotto,  p.  443.) 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS. 


9 


Alexander's  representative  thereupon  reported  to 
him  that  Savonarola's  preaching  was  scandalous 
and  heretical,  as  well  as  most  injurious  to  His  Holi- 
ness and  to  Italy  in  general,  and  he  strongl}'  urged 
the  Pontiff  to  order  the  Friar  to  proceed  to  Rome.^ 
Yielding  to  the  various  influences  that  had  so  per- 
sistently beset  him,  and  being  further  prejudiced 
against  the  Friar  because  of  the  erroneous  or  exag- 
gerated reports  of  his  sermons,  Alexander  de- 
spatched to  Savonarola  the  following  Brief,  which 
bore  date  of  July  21,  1495  :  — 

Beloved  Son, — Health  and  Apostolic  blessing! 
We  have  learned  from  many  sources  that,  among  the 
many  who  labor  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  your 
efforts  have  been  especially  earnest.  This  fills  us  with 
great  joy  and  gratitude  to  God,  AVho  so  powerfullv  works 
tlirough  us  by  His  grace.  Nor  do  we  doubt  that  you, 
by  the  Divine  Spirit  Who  distributes  imperishable 
graces,  will  so  sow  the  seed  of  the  word  of  God  among 
the  people  that  it  will  bear  fruit  a  hundred-fold. 
Moreover,  recent  letters  on  this  very  subject  have 
given  us  to  understand  that  in  all  your  sermons  you 
instruct  the  people  in  the  service  of  God.    And  be- 

1  Cappelli,  109,  Consult  also  contemporary  historians  of 
Florence,  as  Xardi,  Pitti,  Guicciardini ;  and  the  correspondence 
of  the  envoy  of  Liidovico  "  the  Moor,"  as  given  by  Del  Lungo,  in 
Archivio  Storico  Italiano,  vol.  xvii.,  part  ii.,  new  series.  Luotto, 
chapter  29,  shows  how  persistent  slander,  by  enemies  of  the 
Friar,  had  more  effect  in  deceiving  the  Pope  and  deciding  his 
action  than  any  of  the  political  combinations. 


10      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


cause  we  are  also  informed  that  in  jour  public  dis- 
courses you  announce  future  events,  being  moved 
thereto,  not  b}^  human  learning  or  wisdom,  but  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  and  desiring,  as  becomes  our  pastoral 
office,  to  confer  with  you  on  this,  so  that,  knowing  more 
clearly,  we  may  do  what  will  be  pleasing  to  God,  we 
exhort  you  to  come  to  us  as  soon  as  possible,  and  to 
that  effect  we  command  you  in  virtue  of  holy  obedience. 
We  shall  greet  you  with  fatherly  tenderness  and 
love.^ 

To  this  Brief,  Savonarola  made  answer  on 
July  31  :  — 

Most  Holy  Father,  —  I  prostrate  myself  at  the 
feet  of  your  Holiness.  Although  I  am  aware  that  we 
must  always  obey  the  commands  of  our  superiors,  since 
we  read  in  Holy  Scriptures  that  ^^he  who  heareth  you, 
heareth  Me, still  it  is  their  meaning  and  not  merely 
their  words  that  we  have  to  consider.  Hence,  in  the 
chapter  Si  quando,  etc.,  De  rescript is,"^  your  Holiness 
will  recall  the  manner  in  which  one  of  your  predeces- 
sors, Alexander  the  Third,  addressed  the  Archbishop 
of  Ravenna:   '^Having  maturely  considered  the  sub- 

1  The  original  Latin  is  given  by  Perrens,  pp.  352,  353,  and  by 
Villari :  Appendix  vol.  i.,  document  23.  From  a  letter  of  Man- 
fredi  to  the  Duke  of  Ferrara,  dated  July  26,  we  may  conclude 
that  the  Brief  was  received  on  that  day  in  Florence.  (Cappelli, 
p.  65.)  Luotto  (pp.  442,  443)  proves  that  Cardinal  Sforza  was 
the  author  of  this  Brief,  and  that  it  was  a  snare  skilfully  laid 
for  the  Friar  by  the  "Moor's"  scheming  brother,  in  shameful 
deception  of  the  Pope. 

2  Lib.  i.    Decretalium  Gregorii  Papae,  tit.  iii.,  cap.  v. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS. 


11 


ject  of  yonr  letter,  we  sar,  eitlier  fulfil  our  com- 
mand, with  respect,  or  give  to  us  a  legitimate  reason 
for  your  refusal;  because  we  shall  be  most  indulgent 
towards  you.  if  we  find  that  you  are  not  culpable  in 
things  of  which  evil  men  have  caused  us  to  suspect 
you."  ^ 

And  because  I  have  long  desired  to  visit  Rome, 
which  I  have  never  seen,  and  to  worship  at  the  shrine 
of  the  Apostles  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  to  venerate  the 
relics  of  so  many  saints,  and  to  see  3'our  Holiness,  these 
ardent  longings  have  redoubled  since  I  received  the 
letter  of  your  Holiness  deigning  to  invite  one  so  un- 
worthy to  your  presence.  But  as  there  are  many 
difficulties  in  the  way,  I  shall  endeavor  to  lay  before 
your  Holiness  my  reasonable  excuses,  so  that  you  may 
judge  that  it  is  necessity,  and  not  unwillingness, 
which  prevents  me  from  immediately  obeying  the 
command  which  I  received  with  the  greatest  joy  and 
reverence. 

In  the  first  place,  fever  and  dysentery-,  from  which  I 
have  lately  suffered,  have  greatly  weakened  my  health. 
Then  the  constant  strain  of  mind  and  bod}'  because  of 
extraordinary  labors  during  the  past  year  for  the  wel- 
fare of  this  city  has  so  debilitated  me,  my  stomach  has 
so  failed  me,  that  I  am  utterly  unfitted  for  further 
labor.  The  physicians  have  obliged  me  to  relinquish 
all  study  and  preaching,  for,  in  their  opinion  and  that 
of  many  others,  I  shall  soon  endanger  my  life  unless 
I  submit  to  medical  treatment.^ 

1  Panormitanus,  torn,  i.,  cap.  v.,  p.  41. 

2  Und^r  like  circumstances  Pope  St.  Gresrory  the  Great 
jTraised  a  bishop  for  his  declining  to  come  to  Rome  when  sum- 


12      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


Moreover,  the  Lord  has  used  me  to  deliver  this  citj 
from  bloodshed  and  from  many  other  evils,  and  for  the 
establishment  of  peace  with  holy  laws.  In  consequence, 
evil  men  in  the  city  and  beyond  it,  citizens  and 
strangers,  eager  for  bloodshed  and  plunder,  seeking 
their  own  exaltation  and  the  destruction  of  this  city's 
liberty,  have  become  m}^  bitter  enemies,  because  I  have 
frustrated  their  designs.  Enraged  against  me,  and 
hating  me,  they  so  plot  for  my  death,  either  by  the 
dagger  or  by  poison,  that  I  cannot  leave  the  house 
without  an  escort.  And  therefore,  when  I  went  to  the 
French  king,  though  I  was  protected  by  a  most  faith- 
ful guard,  the  Florentines  who  love  the  Eepublic  would 
not  allow  me  to  go  beyond  their  territory.  I  trust  in 
God;  nevertheless,  that  I  may  not  seem  to  tempt  Him, 
I  consider  it  well  not  to  despise  ordinary  precautions ; 
for  it  is  written,  "  When  they  persecute  you  in  one  city, 
flee  into  another." 

Moreover,  the  recent  reform  in  Florence  which  the 
Lord  has  wrought  is  still  only  feebly  rooted.  It  needs 
daily  care  and  strengthening,  so  that  it  may  be  able 
to  withstand  the  efforts  of  wicked  men  who  seek  its 
injury  and  ruin.  Since,  therefore,  in  the,  opinion  of 
all  prudent  and  good  men,  my  departure  from  the  city 
at  this  time  would  be  an  occasion  of  grave  danger,  I 
believe  that  your  Holiness  will  approve  of  this  delay, 
until  the  work  which  has  been  commenced  will  be  per- 
fected. For  its  benefit  these  impediments  to  my  jour- 
ney seem  providential,  for  it  is  not  the  will  of  God 
that  I  should  be  absent. 

moned.  (Lib.  x.,  Ep.  45,  p.  1102,  torn.  iii.  of  St.  Gregory,  torn. 
Ixxii.  of  Patrology.) 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTFRS, 


13 


But  I  hope  to  be  able,  within  a  short  time,  to  go  to 
Rome,  bringing  a  fuller  account  of  this  apostolate. 
And  if  in  the  meantime  your  Holiness  desires  to  know 
more  fully  what  I  have  publicly  predicted  concerning 
the  misfortunes  of  Italy  and  the  reformation  of  the 
Church,  I  shall  send  to  your  Holiness  a  copy  of  the 
book  which  I  am  now  having  printed,  as  soon  as  I  shall 
receive  it  from  the  publisher.^  This  volume  will  full}^ 
declare  all  that  your  Holiness  could  hear  from  me,  for 
I  have  said  nothing  that  is  not  herein  contained.  I 
have  only  announced  what  was  committed  to  me;  to 
have  attempted  to  unveil  the  hidden  secrets  of  God 
would  have  been  sinful.  I  have  arranged  for  the  pub- 
lication of  these  predictions  so  that  the  whole  world 
may  know,  if  they  are  not  fulfilled,  that  I  am  a  false 
prophet.  But  if  these  events  come  to  pass,  let  thanks 
be  rendered  to  God  our  Saviour,  Who  shows  such  solici- 
tude for  our  salvation  that  He  wishes  no  one  to  perish 
eternally. 

Finally,  I  pray  your  Holiness  to  accept  these  my 
excuses  as  most  true  and  evident,  and  to  believe  that 
I  desire  nothing  more  than  to  obey  you  and  to  fulfil 
your  commands ;  and  further,  I  entreat  you  not  to 
burden  me  beyond  my  strength.  I  shall  need  no  other 
spur  than  my  own  desire  to  satisfy  your  Holiness,  as 
soon  as  these  obstacles  are  removed.  I  most  humbly 
commend  myself  to  your  Holiness.^ 

To  make  clear  Savonarola's  position  it  is  nec- 
essary to  state  that  on  finishing  the  Lenten  course 

1  He  refers  to  the  "  Compendium  of  Revelations." 

2  Tlie  Latin  text  is  given  by  Villari,  Appendix  vol.  i.,  Docu- 
ment 24,  and  by  Perrens,  pp.  353-355. 


14      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED  f 

of  1495  his  health  was  impaired.  He  had  passed 
through  a  trying  ordeal  of  uninterrupted  care  and 
anxiety ;  and  the  strain  of  the  year  had  borne  so 
heavily  on  him  that  he  intimated  to  his  audience 
that  he  might  be  obliged  to  relinquish  his  work  in 
the  pulpit.  He  spoke  more  clearly  to  this  effect 
on  June  24,  July  5,  July  12,^  stating  definitely  on 
this  last  named  date  that  illness  compelled  him 
to  discontinue  his  preaching.  When  the  Pope's 
Brief  of  July  21  came,  Savonarola  w^as  confined 
to  the  convent,  under  the  care  of  physicians.^ 

On  the  28th,  despite  his  feeble  health,  he  de- 
livered a  brief  address  to  the  magistrates  and 
leading  citizens,  warning  them  against  impending 
dangers,  and  exhorting  them  to  renewed  vigi- 
lance in  the  defence  of  liberty,  and  to  fidelity 
in  virtue,  concluding  with  a  touching  prayer  to 
Jesus  Christ  that  He  would  deign  to  preserve 
in  their  reform  of  life  the  people  of  Florence, 
and  that  he  himself  might  be  made  worthy  of 
the  reward  which  had  ever  been  the  portion  of 
the  Prophets,  Apostles,  and  Martyrs  of  his  Divine 
Master. 

Savonarola  w^as  fully  informed  of  the  plots  of 
the  Arrahhiati^  who  were  resolved  to  assassinate 
him.  The  attempt  made  on  his  life  in  the  open 
street  was  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  his  friends, 
who  not  only  guarded  him,  but  kept  diligent  watch 

1  Sermons  23,  24,  25  on  the  Psalms. 

2  Luotto,  p.  450. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS.  15 

on  the  movements  and  plots  of  his  sworn  enemies.^ 
Considering,  therefore,  the  mode  of  travel  preva- 
lent in  those  days,  and  that  Savonarola  made  all 
his  journeys  on  foot,  and  mindful  of  the  fact  that 
among  his  opponents  were  men  of  desperate  purpose, 
to  whom  a  sacrilegious  murdei"  would  be  but  as  a 
move  on  the  political  chess-board,  it  may  be  reason- 
ably claimed  that  a  visit  to  Rome  by  Savonarola  was 
then  practically  impossible.  Indeed,  had  he  set 
out,  it  is  extremely  doubtful  that  he  would  ever 
have  reached  the  Eternal  City.  To  expose  himself 
to  almost  certain  murder  was  not  an  obligation; 
nor  is  our  Divine  Lord's  example  wanting.  "  After 
these  things  Jesus  walked  in  Galilee,  for  He  would 
not  walk  in  Judea  because  the  Jews  sought  to  kill 
Him."  2 

Though  the  Pope's  reply,  if  he  sent  a  written 
one,  is  not  preserved,  we  know  from  Savonarola's 
own  words  that  Alexander  had  conveyed  to  him 
by  some  messenger,  or  probably  through  the  Car- 

1  He  refers  to  their  murderous  purpose  in  his  sermon  for 
the  Tuesday  after  the  Fourth  Sunday  of  Lent,  1496,  and  in 
several  other  discourses.  Pico  della  Mirandola  (chapter  vii.  of 
his  "  Vita  Savonarolse  "  )  declares  that  the  Friar's  friends,  moved 
by  just  anxiety  and  deep  devotion,  insisted  on  providing  for 
him  an  escort,  though  he  himself  was  strongly  averse  to  it. 
Another  contemporary,  Landucci,  tells  us  (Diary  for  May  24, 
1495)  of  the  attack  made  on  Savonarola's  life  that  day,  and 
adds  that  his  followers  had  grave  reason  to  fear  that  he  would 
again  be  assailed,  either  by  dagger  or  poison,  for  these  enemies, 
who  were  also  the  foes  of  virtue  and  public  decency,  were  bent 
on  his  destruction.    See  also  Yillari,  ii.  25;  Perrens,  p.  176. 

2  St.  John  vii.  1. 


16      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


dinal  Protector  of  the  Order,  or  the  Master  General, 
his  gracious  acceptance  of  the  Friar's  excuses.^ 
Thus  the  pontifical  command  to  visit  Rome  was 
practically  suspended  or  revoked. 

The  month  of  August  passed,  and  the  Feast  of 
our  Lady's  Nativity,  September  8,  found  Savona- 

1  Sermon  for  February  18,  1498 ;  Bayonne,  p.  74,  Luotto  (pp. 
457,  458)  inclines  to  the  belief  that  the  Pope  did  not  receive  the 
letter  written  by  Savonarola  on  July  31,  at  least  until  after  the 
Brief  of  September  8  had  been  forwarded.  It  is  only  in  such 
an  hypothesis  that  the  professor  can  discover  an  explanation  of 
the  harshness  of  this  latter  Brief,  unless  politics,  under  the 
cloak  of  religion,  be  admitted  as  the  sole  promptmg  motive, 
and  this  he  denies.  Despite  the  fact  that  the  Pope's  own  words 
(see  Briefs  of  October  16,  1495,  and  May  13,  1497)  are  in  agree- 
ment with  Savonarola's  statement,  without  mentioning  the  time 
when  the  letter  was  received,  the  Friar's  complaint  (see  his  let- 
ter of  September  29,  12th  section)  that  his  letter  was  kept  from 
the  Pontiff  would  seem  to  sustain  Luotto's  claim,  who  solves 
the  difl&culty  as  to  time  by  suggesting  that  the  letter  subse- 
quently came  to  Alexander's  hands,  after  the  issue  of  the  Brief 
of  September  8.  I  confess  I  do  not  feel  the  convincing  force  of 
the  professor's  argument,  —  it  leaves  too  many  difficulties  un- 
solved ;  and  yet  I  incline  to  his  view  that  the  letter  was  sup- 
pressed, while  Savonarola  was  still  further  misrepresented  as  a 
religious  innovator  and  disturber,  disobedient  and  defiant  to 
the  Holy  See.  Such  pretexts,  under  the  skilful  manipulation 
of  the  "Moor,"  his  wily  brother  the  Cardinal  Ascanio  Sforza, 
the  Medici,  and  other  plotters  determined  to  ruin  Savonarola, 
might  well  stir  the  Pope  to  indignation,  after  his  gentle  sum- 
mons had  been,  as  these  malignant  slanderers  insinuated  to 
him,  contemptuously  treated  by  the  Friar.  Knowing  the  char- 
acter, or  rather,  want  of  character  of  many  of  Savonarola's  ene- 
mies, utterly  unscrupulous  assassins  of  reputations,  and  often  of 
lives,  our  sympathies  may  be  divided  between  the  deceived  and 
liarassed  Pontiff  and  the  calumniated,  persecuted,  and  helpless 
Friar. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS.  17 


rola  still  silent  and  in  retirement.  Father  Domi- 
nic had  taken  his  place  in  the  pulpit  of  the  Duomo. 
Suddenly,  as  by  thunder  from  a  clear  sky,  Florence 
was  aroused  by  the  arrival  of  a  second  Brief,  plainly 
the  work  of  the  Friar's  enemies,  who  had  taken 
advantage  of  his  seclusion,  and,  redoubling  their 
efforts  to  effect  his  downfall,  had  abused  the  con- 
fidence of  the  Pope,  and  deceived  him  through 
a  calumnious  misrepresentation  of  Savonarola's 
teaching.^ 

A  literal  translation  of  the  Pope's  letter  is  here 
given.  Though  addressed  to  his  beloved  sons,  the 
Prior  and  community  of  St.  Mark's,  Alexander 
nevertheless  directed  and  sent  the  Brief  to  the 
Friars  Minor  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
Florence.    It  reads  as  follows  :  ^  — 

1  Seeing  that  this  first  attempt  had  failed,  the  Mediceans 
adopted  more  effectual  means.  They  wrote  most  ingratiating 
letters  to  Ludovico  the  Moor,  Lord  of  Milan,  to  Piero  de'  Medici 
and  his  brother  the  Cardinal,  and  to  several  other  Roman  prel- 
ates, urging  them  to  exert  their  influence  with  the  Pope,  not 
only  to  have  the  preaching  of  Savonarola  suspended,  but  also 
to  have  him  removed  from  Florence.  It  was  not  difficult  to 
obtain  this  from  Alexander,  who,  in  a  threatening  letter  with- 
drew from  the  Friar  permission  to  preach,  and  commanded  him 
to  leave  Florence  and  Tuscany.  But  when  the  rumor  of  this 
spread  through  the  city,  a  great  clamor  arose  among  the  people, 
who  well  knew  what  was  hidden  under  the  pontificial  command, 
ajid  what  disorder  and  irreparable  injury  would  be  inflicted  on 
the  new  State,  which  had  its  best  protection  in  the  authority 
and  eloquence  of  Savonarola.  For  this  reason  "The  Ten" 
worked  so  industriously  that  the  order  was  recalled.  —  Mar- 
CHESE  :  San  Marco,  p.  118. 

2  The  original  Latin  may  be  found  in  Quetif,  pp.  130  seq., 

2 


18      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED  ? 


Alexander  the  Sixth,  Pope^  to   his  beloved  sons^  the 
Prior  and  Community  of  St.  3Iark^s,  Florence  : 

Beloved  Soxs,  —  Health  and  Apostolic  blessing  ! 

As  the  high  and  inscrutable  design  of  God  has  placed 
us,  though  unworthy,  to  rule  His  Holy  Church  in 
these  times,  as  Peter's  successor,  it  behooves  us,  by  all 
the  power  of  God's  grace,  with  constant  diligence  and 
zeal,  so  to  guard  religion  that  the  peace  and  salvation  of 
Christians  ma}^  not  only  be  assured,  but  that  they  may 
grow  and  flourish. 

Novelties  in  doctrine,  however  (adopted  under  the 
pretext  of  simplicitj^,  from  which,  among  clergy  and 
laity,  schisms,  heresies,  and  perversion  of  morals  often 
arise),  must  therefore  be  driven  from  the  Church  with 
the  rod  of  correction,  lest  the  quiet  of  the  faithful  be 
now  disturbed,  and  the  power  of  causing  future  tumults 
be  likewise  placed  in  the  hands  of  men  by  reason  of  this 
example. 

We  have  learned  that  a  certain  Jerome  Savonarola 
of  Ferrara,  of  the  Order  of  Preachers,  seduced  by  this 
novelty  of  evil  doctrine,  and  led  into  a  state  of  insjlne 
folly  through  the  disturbed  condition  of  Italian  affairs, 
has  announced  to  the  people,  without  any  canonical 
authority,  and  against  the  canonical  regulations,  that 
he  is  sent  by  God  and  that  with  God  he  liolds  converse. 
It  is  not  sufficient  that  one  will  simply  assert  that 
he  is  sent  by  God,  since  every  heretic  avows  this,  but 
it  is  necessary  that  he  confirm  his  invisible  mission 

and  in  Luotto,  Appendix.  The  autograph  copy  was  found  by- 
Father  Bavonne,  in  1874,  and  then  the  correct  date  —  Septem- 
ber 8  —  was  ascertained. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


19 


by  working  miracles,  or  by  special  testimony  of  Holy 
Writ. 

We  have  also  learned  that,  among  other  unbecoming 
things  which  he  has  spoken  or  written,  he  has  declared 
that  Jesus  Christ  Crucified  lies  and  that  God  lies  if  he 
tells  not  the  truth,  —  certainly  a  horrible  and  execrable 
adjuration,  —  and  that  whoever  does  not  believe  his 
foolish  assertions  is  outside  the  pale  of  salvation. 

Were  such  things  allowed  to  pass  with  impunity, 
there  would  be  no  limit  to  the  dangerous  rashness  of 
false  doctrine,  and  under  the  guise  of  virtues  vices 
would  make  headway  among  the  faithful — a  thing 
fearful  indeed !  After  our  long  delay  and  continued 
patience  we  thought  that  he  would  recognize  the  folly 
of  his  claiming  to  be  a  prophet,  and  that  he  would 
return  to  the  way  of  solid  truth,  and  wisely  and  faith- 
fully recall  the  addresses,  rashly  and  iniquitously 
spoken,  which  have  been  the  cause  of  such  disturbance 
in  the  Church. 

We  believed  that  the  time  had  come  when  we  might 
think  better  of  him,  when  the  sorrow  (which  till  this 
present  time  has  afflicted  us)  because  of  his  unbridled 
arrogance  and  scandalous  separation  from  the  Lombard 
Fathers  —  an  affair  consummated  through  the  craft  and 
cunning  of  certain  perverse  friars  —  would,  through  his 
humble  submission,  be  turned  into  joy.  But,  sad  to  say, 
our  hope  was  not  realized.  For,  although  by  our  letter 
we  admonished  him  in  virtue  of  holy  obedience  that  he 
should  come  to  us,  so  that  we  might  learn  the  truth 
from  himself,  nevertheless,  he  not  only  refused  to  obey 
us,  but  rendered  our  sorrow  more  bitter  by  impudently 
printing  and  publishing  what  he  had  previously  only 


20      WAS  SAVOXAROLA  EXCOM^VUNICATED? 


rashly  spoken.  Occupied  as  we  are  with  the  great 
and  laborious  work  of  restoring  peace  to  Italy,  we  have 
decided  to  refer  this  matter  to  Father  Sebastian  Maggi, 
of  your  Order,  Vicar  General  of  the  Congregation  of 
Lombard}^,  commissioning  him  by  another  Brief  to 
judge  this  case  according  to  the  laws  of  your  Order, 
and  to  inflict  such  penalties  as  he  may  deem  necessary. 
Moreover,  we  strictly  command  the  said  Jerome 
Savonarola,  in  virtue  of  holy  obedience,  and  under 
penalty  of  excommunication  latce  sententice,  that 
with  prompt  and  sincere  obedience  he  will  recognize 
the  said  Vicar  as  the  judge  delegated  by  us  to  consider 
his  case,  and  that  he  will  accept  the  Vicar's  orders, 
going  wherever  he  is  directed,  ready  without  delay  and 
without  appeal,  to  obey. 

In  the  meantime,  while  this  case  is  in  review  before 
the  said  Vicar,  we  declare  the  aforesaid  Jerome  sus- 
pended from  every  office  of  preaching  to  the  people, 
and  from  all  manner  of  public  speaking.  Moreover, 
lest  the  evil  example  of  the  same  Jerome  should  en- 
snare any  of  your  friars,  affording  them  an  opportunity 
of  erring  and  of  deceiving  others,  we  reunite,  incorpo- 
rate, and  join  to  the  aforesaid  Lombard  Congregation 
the  Dominican  Convent  of  St.  Mark,  Florence,  and 
that  of  St.  Dominic,  Fiesole,  commanding  all  the 
brethren  of  these  communities,  under  pain  of  excom- 
munication latce  sententice,  that  they  will  consider  and 
obey  as  their  legitimate  superior  the  Vicar  of  the 
aforesaid  Congregation  ;  revoking  now,  and  declaring 
revoked,  all  authoritjT-,  power,  or  faculties  granted  to. 
others,  even  by  Apostolic  authority.  We  also  enjoin, 
under  the  same  penalty  of  excommunication  latce  seU' 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


21 


tentice^  that,  on  receipt  of  this  letter,  Fathers  Dominic 
of  Pescia/  Thomas  Busino,  and  Sylvester  of  Florence,^ 
will  set  out  for  Bologna,  arriving  there  within  nine 
days,  when  they  will  place  themselves  at  the  disposal 
of  the  aforesaid  Vicar  of  Lonibardy,  who  will  assign 
them  to  any  convent  of  his  jurisdiction,  except  within 
the  Florentine  territory. 

°  In  contrarium,  etc.. 

Given,  etc.,  September  8,  1495. 

The  reader  will  note,  first,  that  between  the  issue 
of  the  two  Briefs  of  July  21  and  September  8  a 
period  of  less  than  seven  weeks  had  elapsed; 
secondly,  that  the  Pope  had  excused  Savonarola 
from  the  requirements  of  the  former  Brief ;  and, 
thirdly,  that  the  volume  —  the  "  Compendium  of 
Revelations  " —  of  which  the  present  letter  com- 
plains was  in  the  printer's  hands  before  the  receipt 
by  Savonarola  of  the  Brief  of  July  21,  a  fact  which 
he  mentioned  in  his  answer  of  July  31. 

The  reader  is  also  reminded  that  the  enjoyment 
by  St.  Mark's  of  a  jurisdiction  independent  of 
Lombardy  had  been  secured,  not  by  any  irregular 
arrangement,  but  by  a  return  to  a  former  and  con- 
stitutional method  of  administration ;  and  that  this 
was  a  movement  in  behalf  of  religious  reform  and 
stricter  discipline,  which  had  been  effected  by 
the  authority  of  Alexander  himself.^     Of  this 

^  Subsequently  condemned  to  death  with  Savonarola. 
2  BuUarium,  iv.  100. 


22      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


Savonarola  speaks  in  the  answer  which  he  for- 
warded in  due  time  to  the  Pope. 

The  Brief  of  September  8  Avas  transferred  to 
St.  Mark's  by  the  Franciscans,  Savonarola  being 
then  at  Fiesole  for  rest  and  cliange  because  of  his 
illness.^  On  his  return  he  at  once  made  known  to 
his  community  the  contents  of  the  papal  letter, 
and  addressed  to  His  Holiness  an  answer  which 
we  give  in  full :  ^  — 

Most  Holy  Father,  —  I  prostrate  myself  at  the 
feet  of  your  Holiness.  Yesterday  I  received  the  Brief 
in  which  your  Holiness  intimates  that  the  convents 
of  St.  Mark's  and  of  Fiesole  have  been  annexed  to 
the  Lombard  Congregation,  and  in  which  your  Holi- 
ness commands  Fathers  Dominic  of  Pescia,  Thomas 
Busino,  and  Sylvester  of  Florence  to  go  to  Bologna. 
The  reason  given  for  these  changes  is  that  I,  Brother 
Jerome,  have  told  and  preached  to  the  people  (contrary 
to  canonical  prescriptions)  many  foolish  and  extrav- 
agant things  capable  of  easily  causing  scandal  in  the 
Church  of  God. 

By  other  letters  your  Holiness  has  submitted  my 
cause  to  the  judicial  inquiry  and  judgment  of  the 
Vicar  of  the  said  Congregation.    I  have  read  these 

1  Gherardi,  p.  388. 

2  Quetif,  p.  136  seq.,  gives  the  original  Latin,  the  text  of 
which  we  have  conformed  to  Bayonne's  as  given  by  him  in 
'^'(Euvres  Spirituelles  C/ioisies  de  Jerome  Savonarole,"  iii.,  pp.  186- 
200.  Luotto,  p.  457,  claims  that  the  date  should  be  September 
29,  which  we  adopt  as  more  probable  than  that  of  September  14, 
as  given  by  Bayonne. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


23 


Briefs  in  a  reverent  spirit,  and  with  all  the  respect 
due  to  them,  since  they  prove  the  solicitude  of  your 
Holiness  for  the  interests  of  the  Church  and  for  the  sal- 
vation of  our  souls.  But  I  was  deeply  moved  and  am 
still  grieved  to  see  how  the  malice  of  men  could  go  so 
far  as  not  to  fear  suggesting  things  so  false  and  so  per- 
versely interpreted,  to  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  the  Vicar 
of  Christ  on  earth.  Since,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the 
Brief,  these  changes  have  been  ordered  on  account  of 
myself  and  of  tlie  alleged  fault,  will  your  Holiness 
deign  to  excuse  me,  if  I,  who  am  reputed  to  be  the 
author  of  this  storm,  endeavor  to  defend  myself  against 
wrongful  interpretations,  assertions,  and  suggestions, 
by  a  simple  statement  of  facts,  and  by  a  true  and  sin- 
cere account  of  the  good  which  has  already  been  wrought, 
and  which  will,  I  hope,  be  accomplished  in  the  future. 
This  will  be  no  difficult  task,  because  I  have  always 
spoken  openly  to  the  world,  I  have  always  taught  in 
the  Church  and  in  the  Temple,  where  all  Christians 
meet,  and  in  secret  I  have  said  nothing.  I  have, 
therefore,  thousands  of  witnesses  to  my  rectitude  and 
orthodoxy,  so  that  I  am  confident  of  being  able  to 
defend  m}^  cause  before  your  Holiness  without  the 
slightest  difficulty.  Has  not  a  philosopher  said  that 
truth  is  ever  in  harmony  with  truth,  never  with 
falsehood"  ? 

It  has  been  suggested,  therefore,  to  your  Holiness 
(for  it  is  patent  by  3'our  Holiness's  Briefs),  first,  that 
I  had  allowed  myself  to  be  seduced  b}'  the  novelty  of 
perverse  doctrine.  A  falsehood  on  the  very  face  of 
it  !  for  it  is  of  public  notoriety  that  I  neither  adopt 


24      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


nor  preach  any  perverse  doctrine,  but  only  the  Holy 
Scriptures  and  the  Fathers,  and  that  I  have  frequently 
repeated  from  the  pulpit,  and  have  declared  in  writing, 
that  I  submitted  both  myself  and  all  that  concerns  me 
to  the  Holy  Eoman  Church.  If  I  remember  aright,  I 
stated  this  in  a  letter  to  your  Holiness,  to  which  letter 
reference  is  made  in  a  Brief  addressed  to  me  by  your 
Holiness.  Will  it  be  said  that  to  preach  future  events 
is  a  new  dogma  ?  This  would  be  an  error.  Such 
preaching  has  alwa3^s  Qxisted  in  the  Church  of  God, 
which  fact  is  clear  to  all  who  read  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory. Such  preaching  is  not  injurious  to  the  Christian 
Religion,  so  long  as  it  does  not  offend  against  faith, 
morals,  or  right  reason.  Such  preaching  has  never 
been  prohibited,  nor  can  it  be  forbidden  by  any  law. 
For  that  would  be  to  lay  down  a  law  for  God,  who 
said  by  His  prophet,  The  Lord  God  doth  nothing 
without  revealing  His  secret  to  His  servants  the 
prophets."^ 

2d.  The  Brief  says  that  I  have  come  to  this  state 
of  madness  in  consequence  of  the  disturbed  condition 
of  Italian  affairs.  This  is  equally  false.  Everybody 
knows  that  I  prophesied  these  things  more  than  five 
years  ago;  yea,  even  more  than  ten  years  ago;  and, 
nevertheless,  I  did  not  speak  them  in  consequence  of 
the  upheaval  of  the  Peninsula. 

3d.  I  have  been  reproached  with  saying  that  I 
was  sent  by  God.  Another  untruth  !  All  my  hearers 
know  that  I  never  said  anything  of  the  kind;  I  have 
declared  in  my  writings,  which  all  men  may  read,  that 

1  Amos  iii.  7. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


25 


I  was  sent  by  my  superiors,  just  as  nearly  all  the 
other  preachers  were.  I  have  never  declared  that  I 
was  sent  by  God  alone,  as  thousands  of  witnesses  can 
testify. 

4th.  I  am  blamed  in  the  Brief  for  having  said  that 
I  spoke  with  God.  I  never  positively  said  so,  and 
never  used  such  an  expression,  as  the  entire  Florentine 
people  can  testify.  Even  if  I  had  said  so  I  would  not 
have  thereby  incurred  an}'  penalty,  for  neither  canon 
nor  civil  law  nor  any  authentic  book  declares  that  he 
who  says  he  holds  converse  with  God  ought  to  be 
punished.  It  would  be  both  impious  and  foolish  to 
enact  such  a  law,  for  no  man  can  impose  a  law  upon 
God,  Who  can  speak  with  whom  He  will  and  can 
command  him  to  say,  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  as  did 
the  prophets. 

5th.  I  have  been  denounced,  likewise,  as  having 
said:  The  Crucified  God  Himself  lies,  if  I  myself  lie. 
Now,  I  7iever  said  this  in  a  positive  manner,  as  if  I 
wished  to  make  myself  equal  to  God.  I  spoke  hypo- 
thetically,   as,  for  instance,  a  man  who  would  sny, 

There  shall  be  signs  in  the  sun,  moon  and  stars,'' 
and  who  would  add,  ^'If  I  lie,  Christ  lies  also."  Is  this 
a  manner  of  execrable  imprecation?  Well,  after 
having  announced  some  truth  taught  by  Christ,  I  have 
sometimes  added  simply,  ''If  I  speak  falsely,  so  also 
does  Christ." 

6th.  I  have  likewise  been  reproached  with  having 
declared  all  those  who  should  not  have  faith  in  my  vain 
assertions,  as  outside  the  way  of  salvation.  This  is 
how  I  expressed  myself:  knowing  that  many  of  my 
predictions  come  from  God,  I  consider  that  any  one 


26      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


who  obstinately  refuses  to  place  faith  in  them,  and 
intends  to  contradict  them  absolutely,  thereby  proves 
that  he  is  not  in  a  state  of  grace.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
grace  and  the  light  of  faith  incline  the  mind  to  truth; 
consequently^  whoever  possesses  grace  could  not  oppose 
a  truth  confirmed  by  God.  As  for  those  who,  while 
not  believing  my  words,  still  do  not  obstinately  con- 
tradict them,  I  have  said  and  publicly  written,  that  in 
spite  of  this,  they  can  be  in  a  state  of  grace,  and  in 
the  way  of  salvation.  I  have  not  affirmed,  therefore, 
that  they  sinned,  but  only  that  obstinacy  and  contra- 
diction were  a  sign  of  deprivation  of  grace. 

7th.  The  Brief  then  adds  :  "  He  has  done,  said,  and 
written  other  no  less  foolish  things."  Now  the  whole 
people  are  a  witness  that  I  neither  say  nor  do  foolish 
or  scandalous  things;  that,  on  the  contrary,  my  words 
have  great  power  and  are  very  necessary^,  that  they 
bring  forth  much  fruit,  and  that  they  tend  to  the  sal- 
vation of  souls,  to  the  peace  of  the  cit}^,  and  to  the 
reform  of  morals.  And  since  it  is  written,  "Every  word 
is  confirmed  by  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses," 
I  undertake  to  produce,  not  two  or  three  witnesses,  but 
two,  three,  or  even  ten  thousand  witnesses,  who  will 
proclaim  the  truth,  together  with  the  works  accom- 
plished, not  by  myself,  but  by  God  and  through  my 
ministry;  and  they  will  prove  that  I  have  never  said 
or  done  such  things  as  wicked  men  have  invented 
against  me. 

8th.  The  Brief  again  adds:  ''We  had  hoped  that 
our  forbearance  and  great  patience  would  have  finally 
brought  him  to  disclaim  this  foolish  declaration  of 
being  a  prophet.''    As  for  myself,  I  believe  that  no  man 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS. 


27 


lives  who  has  ever  heard  fall  from  my  lips  these  arro- 
gant words  :  I  am  a  prophet.  Several  thousand  men 
can  certify  to  the  contrary  ;  I  have  often  declared  that 
I  was  neither  a  prophet  nor  the  son  of  a  prophet.  And 
if  I  had  said  it,  I  do  not  see  why  I  should  be  punished ! 
Xo  law  has  ever  been  enacted,  or  could  be  enacted, 
against  the  man  who  would  declare  that  he  was 
announcing  the  future  b}^  Divine  inspiration,  unless  he 
used  it  as  a  cloak  to  excite  the  people  to  evil,  to  heres}', 
or  to  commit  the  other  crimes  mentioned  in  the  eighth 
chapter  of  Deuteronomy.  Xow  it  is  clear  that  nothing 
of  the  kind  could  be  imputed  to  me.  ^loreover,  if  I  am 
wrong  in  my  understanding  of  the  matter,  no  prophet 
could  arise  in  the  Church  of  God,  and  the  gift  of  proph- 
ecy would  henceforth  be  banished  from  her  bosom, 
which  is  contrary  to  the  words  of  Amos,  already 
quoted,  and  to  what  is  said  in  Proverbs :  "  When 
prophecy  shall  fail,  the  people  shall  be  scattered."  ^ 

It  will  be  objected  that  it  is  written  in  Deuteronomy, 
^'The  prophet  who  being  corrupted  with  pride  shall 
speak  in  My  name  things  that  I  did  not  command  him 
to  say,  or  in  the  name  of  strange  gods,  shall  be  slain. 
Whatsoever  that  same  prophet  foretelleth  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  and  it  cometh  not  to  pass,  that  thing  the 
Lord  hath  not  spoken,  but  the  prophet  hath  forged  it 
b}^  the  pride  of  his  mind,  and  therefore  thou  shalt  not 
fear  him."  ^ 

I  reply  that  these  words  must  not  be  interpreted  in 
the  sense  that  the  prophet  ought  to  be  put  to  death  if 
his  prophecies  are  not  immediately  realized,  otherwise 
Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  many  other  prophets  ought  to 

1  rrov.  xxix.  18.  2  p^ut.  xviii.  20,  22. 


28      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


have  been  put  to  death,  who  lived  on  for  many  j^ears 
before  the  realization  of  their  predictions,  and  died 
without  seeing  all  of  them  accomplished. 

This  is  how  the  above-quoted  words  are  to  be  inter- 
preted: If  any  man  declares  that  he  foretells  future 
events  by  Divine  inspiration,  and  if  his  predictions  are 
not  opposed  to  Faith,  the  Holy  Scriptures,  or  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church,  the  realization  of  such 
must  be  patiently  awaited;  and  this  man  must  not  be 
despised,  especially  if  he  leads  a  holy  life,  because  God 
has  many  hidden  and  unknown  servants,  and  because 
the  Apostle  has  said:  '^Do  not  despise  prophecies. 

If,  on  the  contrarj^,  the  prophecies  are  not  accom- 
plished at  the  time  specified  by  the  prophet,  then  he 
must  be  severely  corrected.  This  is  how  the  law  must 
be  interpreted;  but,  nevertheless,  not  in  every  case, 
since  Jonah  could  announce  that  Xineveh  would  be 
destroyed  in  forty  days,  without  anj^thing  of  the  kind 
happening,  and  without  his  deserving  any  chastise- 
ment. If,  therefore,  I  have  foretold  future  events,  and 
if  several  of  my  predictions  have  already  been  realized, 
there  is  no  need  to  correct  or  punish  me  as  yet.  I 
should  only  merit  chastisement  if  my  other  predictions 
were  not  verified  in  their  season ;  now  I  am  confident 
that  they  will  be  verified  to  the  very  letter. 

It  is  certainly  true,  most  Holy  Father,  and  it  is  of 
public  notoriety,  not  only  here,  but  in  several  other 
cities  of  Italy,  that  my  words  have  established  peace  in 
Florence,  and  that,  without  this  peace,  the  whole  of 
Italy  would  have  been  in  a  state  of  riot.  More  than 
this,  if  faith  had  been  placed  in  my  words,  Italy  would 
not  be  agitated  as  it  is  to-day.    Foreseeing  the  tribula- 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


29 


tions  reserved  for  the  country,  I  preaclied  (although 
many  always  scorned  me)  that  the  sword  was  about  to 
descend,  and  I  showed  that  penance  w^as  the  sole 
remed}"  so  as  to  obtain  peace.  The  whole  Peninsula, 
therefore,  ought  to  thank  God  for  ni}'  preaching.  I 
taught  it  the  certain  remedy  to  obtain  peace.  Florence, 
having  adopted  it,  now  enjo^'S  a  benefit  which  other- 
wise it  would  not  have  known  ;  and  if  Italy  had  imitated 
this  city,  the  Peninsula  would  not  be  torn  by  wars 
from  one  end  to  another.  Xo  man  can  truthfully  say 
that  I  have  caused  dissensions  ;  but  many  will  bear 
■witness  that  I  have  sown  good  seed.  The  enemy, 
however,  has  sown  cockle. 

9th.  The  Brief  likewise  speaks  of  the  fraud  and  cun- 
ning of  certain  brethren,  etc.  («)  Such  a  qualification 
applied  to  religious  who,  far  from  being  branded  with 
infamy,  enjoy  an  excellent  reputation  throughout  the 
entire  city,  sufficiently  proves  that  it  could  only  have 
been  suggested  to  your  Holiness  hy  wicked  men.  Let 
your  Holiness  deign  to  send  here  a  faithful  minister  to 
question  the  citizens  and  the  people  concerning  the 
reputation  of  the  religious  of  St.  Mark's  and  of  Fiesole, 
and  your  Holiness  will  recognize  still  better  that  these 
wicked  men  have  told  grievous  falsehoods,  have  been 
guilty  of  a  flagrant  injustice.  (6)  It  is  false  that  their 
separation  from  the  Lombard  Congregation  was  only 
demanded  by  a  few.  It  was  asked  for  b}"  all,  as  a  pub- 
lic document  proves,  (c)  The  separation  was  de- 
manded, not  that  a  freer  and  easier  life  might  be  led, 
but  a  more  strict  and  severe  one,  as  was  subsequently 
proved,  (d)  Finally,  the  separation  was  not  obtained 
fraudulently-,  but  after  prolonged  discussion  and  mature 


30      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED  f 


examination,  as  the  most  reverend  Protector  of  our 
Order,  Oliver  Caraffa,  Cardinal  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Church,  Archbishop  of  Naples,  can  bear  witness.  He 
obtained  the  separation  for  us  through  his  wisdom  and 
prudence.  By  the  very  terms  of  our  Constitutions,  the 
Province  of  Tuscany  is  distinct  from  the  Province  of 
Lombardy,  and  the  one  must  not  dominate  the  other. 
The  number  of  its  religious  having  singularly  dimin- 
ished on  account  of  a  plague  which  devastated  the  Tus- 
can convents,  the  Master  General  declared  the  Convent 
of  St.  Mark  united  with,  or  rather  commended  to  the  care 
of,  the  Lombard  Congregation.^  Later  on,  a  prior,  un- 
known to  the  religious,  obtained  a  Brief  which  united, 
by  Apostolic  authority,  the  convents  of  St.  Mark,  Fie- 
sole,  and  San  Gemignano  to  the  Lombard  Congregation. 
Now,  this  Brief,  having  been  surreptitiously  obtained, 
was  invalid.^  If  the  religious  of  this  province,  whose 
number  had  increased  and  multiplied,  returned  to  their 
original  jurisdiction  by  your  Holiness's  authority,  it 
must  be  stated  that  this  was  not  done  fraudulently,  but 
conformably  to  the  tenor  of  our  Constitutions. 

10th.  This  is  another  accusation:  ^'Although  we 
had  ordered  him  in  writing  to  appear,"  etc.,  which  is 
likewise  unfounded.  Certainly,  your  Holiness  called 
me  to  Rome,  but  I  hastened  to  submit  to  your  Holi- 
ness, according  to  canon  law  Si  quando,  De  rescriptis, 
the  just  motives  which  made  this  journey  impossible : 

1  In  1448 ;  so  Mazetti,  "  Monumenta  et  Antiquitates  Veteris 
Discipliiiae  Ord.  Praecl./'  a  work  inaccessible  to  me,  but  the  refer- 
ence to  which  Father  Ferretti  verifies  for  me,  as  well  as  sug- 
gests ;  and  Marchese  :  "  San  Marco,"  p.  91,  and  "  Scritti  Vari,"  I, 
92,  93. 

2  For  particulars,  see  Luotto,  472,  473. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


31 


first,  because  I  was  ill  and  an  invalid  and  would  have 
thereby  exposed  myself  to  the  danger  of  death;  and  in 
the  next  place,  because  I  have  such  powerful  and  im- 
placable enemies  that,  according  to  the  opinion  of  all 
the  citizens  who  are  aware  of  it,  I  would  never  have 
been  able  to  arrive  in  Kome.  This  is  an  open  secret  in 
Florence.  Finally,  there  was  danger  for  the  city, 
whose  weak  form  of  government  still  needs  my  advice 
to  maintain  and  develop  itself.  At  the  close  of  my 
letter  I  besought  your  Holiness  to  excuse  me  because 
on  another  occasion  I  would  be  able  to  go  to  Rome  to 
my  greater  satisfaction.  I  am  surprised  that  your 
Holiness  did  not  receive  my  answer,  and  therefore  took 
care  to  enclose  a  copy  of  it  in  the  letter  sent  to  yowv 
Holiness  yesterday  by  the  community,  so  that  your 
Holiness  might  see  that  they  have  spoken  falsely  who 
said  that  I  refused  to  obey. 

11th.  Besides,  as  your  Beatitude  is  occupied  with 
very  grave  matters,  your  Holiness  cannot  keep  an  exact 
account  of  details.  Perverse  men,  knowing  this,  have 
suggested  to  your  Holiness  to  have  my  cause  examined 
and  judged  by  the  Vicar  General  of  the  reformed  con- 
vents of  Lombardy.  This  judge  is  not  above  suspicion 
in  our  eyes,  and  rightly  so,  because  the  afore-mentioned 
separation  has  provoked  the  gravest  dissensions  between 
his  Congregation  and  ourselves,  as  is  well-known,  and 
their  Vicar,  together  with  his  subjects,  never  ceases  to 
attack  us.^ 

1  These  words  of  Savonarola  we  must  understand  in  a  broad 
sense.  Even  had  Sebastian  (as  other  saints  have  done)  ob- 
jected to  a  diminution  of  his  jurisdiction,  the  purity  of  his 
motives  cannot  be  questioned,  nor  the  reform  he  wished  to 
encourage,  and  hence  he  may  liave  been  anxious  to  have  the 


32      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


Your  Holiness  knows  that  to  appoint  as  judge  over 
any  one  a  person  who  is  himself  an  adversary  is  to  vio- 
late all  Divine  and  human  rights. 

12th.  Every  law  exempts  a  man  who  has  mortal 
enemies  from  appearing  personally  in  a  place  where 
his  life  would  be  in  jeopardy,  because  therein  lies  a 
just  cause  for  fear  even  to  a  courageous  man.  Who, 
therefore,  w^ould  appear  before  such  a  tribunal,  and  how 
could  any  one  be  expected  to  submit  himself  to  it,  to 
place  himself  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  and  sponta- 
neousl}^  to  offer  himself  to  a  death  caused,  not  by  jus- 
tice, but  by  violence  and  wickedness  ?  These  are  the 
identical  expressions  of  the  Clementine :  Pastoralis  cle 
re  judic.  Then  follows  a  motive  for  which  a  man 
justly  dreads  these  things  and  avoids  such  a  death: 
reason  condemns  it  and  nature  abhors  it.    He  who 

Convent  of  St.  Mark  restored  to  his  province.  Savonarola's 
earnestness,  and  the  fact  that  he  wrote  under  a  sense  of  great 
grievance,  strengthen  his  words,  perhaps  unduly ;  nor  can  they 
be  applied  to  B.  Sebastian  personally.  Knowing,  moreover,  the 
relations  existing  between  the  two  men,  their  mutual  esteem,  the 
fatherly  and  holy  interest  which  the  Lombard  Vicar  General 
ever  had  in  the  welfare  of  Savonarola,  of  whom  he  declared 
that  it  was  his  opinion  that  the  Prior  of  St.  Mark's  had  never 
committed  a  deliberate  sin,  we  must  regard  these  charges 
against  the  Lombard  friars  as  levelled  at  the  general  body, 
and  not  at  B.  vSebastian,  whose  appointment  as  judge  is  ques- 
tioned on  canonical  grounds.  Savonarola's  complaints  were 
justified,  for  on  June  18,  1493,  and  on  November  16  of  the  same 
year.  Father  Torriano,  the  Master  General,  found  it  necessary  to 
forbid,  under  threat  of  excommunication,  molestation  of  St. 
Mark's  reformed  brethren.  The  first  letter  was  addressed  to 
the  entire  Order,  the  second  to  Fr.  Vincent  de  Castro  Novo 
then  Vicar  General  of  the  Lombard  Congregation.  Gherardi 
(pp.  52,  53  and  56,  57)  gives  the  Latin  text  of  both  documents. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


33 


believed,  therefore,  that  such  a  command  to  appear 
obliged  him  to  do  so  would  be  mistaken.  Resting  on 
this  rule,  and  on  many  others,  which  are  in  this 
Clementine  and  in  the  chapter  Si  quando,  and  taking 
my  stand  upon  the  interpretation  of  the  doctors,  espe- 
cially D.  Felino,^  the  eminent  Auditor  of  your  Holi- 
ness, I  have  a  safe  conscience,  and  I  can  with  impunity 
decline  a  command,  after  having  submitted  to  your 
Holiness  so  many  just  reasons.  As  I  have  already 
stated,  I  have  so  many  powerful  and  bitter  enemies 
that  I  cannot  go  outside  the  city,  nor  even  from  the 
convent,  without  taking  the  greatest  precautions,  be- 
cause of  the  countless  snares  laid  to  entrap  me.  How, 
therefore,  is  it  that  the  Brief  summons  me  to  appear 
before  the  Lombard  Vicar,  wherever  he  may  summon 
me,  when  there  are  so  many  places  in  Italy  where  I 
could  not  go  without  exposing  myself  to  certain  danger 
of  death?  Why  is  this,  save  because  wicked  men  have 
craftily  suggested  falsehoods  to  your  Holiness,  and 
have  not  given  you  my  letter?  ^ 

These  men  are  my  enemies  because  I  preached  truth 
to  them,  for  truth  arouses  hatred.  After  having  ban- 
ished one  faction,  not  out  of  love  for  the  Common- 
wealth, but  to  gratify  their  ambition,  a  great  number 
of  wicked  citizens,  desirous  of  power,  began  to  stir  up 
everywhere  various  parties  and  divisions,  so  that  for 
one  head  decapitated  many  others  replaced  it,  as  is 
commonly  related  of  the  h3^dra. 

Dissensions,  license,  discords,  quarrels,  vengeances, 
seditions,  and  murders  threatened  the  entire  ruin  of 

*  Felinus  Sandaeus,  the  celebrated  canonist, 
'  See  note,  p.  10. 

3 


34      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


the  city,  with  the  added  misfortune  of  a  powerful  king 
about  to  invade  the  Republic.  Moved  by  these  consid- 
erations and  for  good  reasons,  1  strove  to  prevent  fur- 
ther plunder.  Beset  by  evils  within  and  without, 
Florence  would  have  succumbed  and  the  fire  would  have 
been  kindled  for  a  general  conflagration  in  Italy.  See- 
ing the  grave  dangers  that  overhung  this  city,  I  used 
my  best  endeavors  to  disarm  the  wrath  of  the  French 
king,  whom  I  exhorted  to  clemency,  piety,  and  religion, 
urging  him  to  restrain  his  army  from  acts  of  cruelty 
and  pillage,  not  only  in  Florence,  but  in  all  other 
places,  and  ever  to  keep  before  his  eyes  the  fear  of 
God. 

By  His  divine  aid  the  citj'-  was  saved  from  its  great 
peril,  and  peace,  concord,  and  the  fear  of  God  were 
publicly  established.  To  this  important,  even  necessary 
work,  I  gave  unsparingly,  by  day  and  night,  my 
strength  and  energy.  I  sought  the  welfare  and  tran- 
quillity of  the  citizens  and,  above  all,  the  honor  of  God. 
And  behold  how  ingratitude  rewards  m}'^  labor !  But  I 
regret  not  this,  if  a  great  reward  awaits  me  in  Heaven. 
The  children  of  men  are  false  and  untrue,  nor  is  there 
hope  in  them.  I  do  not  fear,  for  I  know  that  it  is 
written,  "They  shall  hate  you  because  of  My  Name; 
nevertheless,  I  do  not  wish  to  tempt  God,  for  it  is  also 
written,  ''When  they  persecute  you  in  one  place,  flee 
to  another.'^  Three  times  did  our  Lord  give  us  an 
example  of  this,  and  the  Apostle  St.  Paul  frequently 
defended  himself  by  human  means. 

13th.  The  Divine  law,  canonists,  and  all  the  doctors 
authorize  a  religious  to  pass  from  a  less  strict  to  a  more 
severe  rule,  especially  in  the  same  Order,  because  one 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS. 


35 


is  thus  better  able  to  keep  the  promises  he  made  and 
to  strive  for  perfection.  Such  is  the  teaching  of  St. 
Thomas.  But  to  pass  to  a  laxer  observance  is  not 
allowed. 

If,  therefore,  your  Holiness,  who  desires  all  re- 
ligious to  aim  at  perfection,  had  known  that  we  lead 
a  stricter  life  than  that  of  the  friars  in  Lombardy, 
your  Holiness  would  not  have  commanded  us  to  re- 
unite with  them,  because  such  a  fusion  is  possible  only 
b}-  our  conforming  to  their  ways.  We  who  are  familiar 
with  both  Congregations  can  affirm  with  certainty  that 
our  observance  is  more  severe  than  theirs,  for  on  the 
principle  by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them  "  it  is 
clear  (a)  that  with  us  poverty  is  more  rigidly  observed; 
(b)  in  food  and  clothing  we  are  more  sparing;  (c)  in 
silence  we  are  more  faithful,  in  prayer  more  frequent; 
(d)  the  entire  city  can  bear  testimony  to  the  different 
manner  of  life  now  followed  in  St.  Mark's  from  that  prev- 
alent when  this  convent  was  under  Lombard  jurisdic- 
tion, for  every  one  knows  it  is  stricter ;  and  (e)  finally, 
tliough  our  members  are  free  to  leave  if  they  wish, 
no  one  has  gone  nor  does  any  one  wish  to  go;  but  in 
Lombardy  they  have  a  penalty  of  excommunication 
against  those  who  separate  from  them  without  special 
permission,  and  yet  they  can  scarcely  hold  their  best 
friars,  who  flock  to  us. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  reading  of  tlie 
Brief  has  caused  great  disturbance  among  our  breth- 
ren, who  have  unanimously  resolved  to  protest  to  your 
Holiness  that  they  are  determined  to  be  faithful  to 
the  promises  which  tliey  made  to  God,  and  that 
they  not  only  desire  no  relaxation,  but  rather  wish 


36      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


that  they  might  be  more  strictly  bound  to  the  Divine 
service. 

14th.  We  feel  certain  that  your  Holiness  does  noo 
intend  to  place  over  these  your  sheep  unsuitable 
shepherds,  for  your  Holiness  will  know  that  as  the 
Lombard  friars  have  so  often  troubled  our  peace,  such 
a  reunion  could  not  but  produce  evils,  could  not  but  be 
disagreeable  to  our  brethren,  to  whom  no  benefit  would 
come,  but  rather  scandal  and  further  disturbance. 
Experience  proves  this,  for  when  they  were  united, 
Lombards  and  Tuscans  disagreed.  Hence,  with  good 
reason,  our  Constitutions  have  divided  them  into  two 
provinces,  and  therefore  your  Holiness  will  not,  with- 
out a  just  motive,  weld  them  together.^ 

15th.  As  your  Holiness  declares  that  you  have  effected 
this  union  lest  the  friars,  being  left  free,  would  follow 
my  errors,  and  for  that  reason  you  have  also  ordered 
three  of  our  brethren  to  set  out  for  Bologna  (the 
journey  to  be  finished  in  nine  days),  and  as  it  is  clear 
that  I  have  not  erred  as  my  adversaries  have  arrogantly 
claimed,  we  presume  that  we  can  confidently  say  that 
it  is  not  your  Holiness's  intention  to  insist  on  these 
things,  for  ''the  cause  ceasing,  the  effect  also  ceases.'' 

Thus,  Holy  Father,  it  is  a  truth  that  everything  told 
to  your  Holiness  is  false,  all  pure  inventions  of  evil 
men  who,  wishing  for  my  death,  seek  cunningly  to 
make  me  leave  this  city,  not  that  I  may  go  and  throw 

1  For  a  full  and  satisfactory  discussion  of  the  principles 
involved  in  this  and  the  preceding  number  of  Savonarola's  let- 
ter, the  reader  is  referred  to  the  learned  Concina,  who  bears 
out  the  truth  of  the  argument  made  by  the  Friar.  {DiscipJina 
Apostolico-Monastica,  Pars  Prima,  Diss,  v.,  cc.  10-13,  pp.  166-201.) 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


37 


myself  at  your  Holiness's  feet,  because  they  know  how 
easy  it  would  be  for  me  to  justify  myself  wholly  before 
your  Holiness,  but  so  as  to  assassinate  me  during  the 
journey  and  to  gratify  their  ambition.  Your  Holiness 
will  not  disdain,  therefore,  to  listen  favorably  to  my 
defence  and  to  qualify  my  conduct  as  prudent  rather 
than  disobedient.  I  defer,  delay,  awaiting  your  benign 
reply  and  asking  your  Holiness  to  free  us  from  these 
difficulties.  Such  is  the  teaching  transmitted  by  your 
predecessors,  and  by  the  holy  doctors,  canonists,  and 
theologians,  whose  testimonies,  especially  in  the  chapter 
ScribenteSf  I  would  quote  here,  if  they  were  not  already 
familiar  to  your  Holiness's  eminent  Auditor,  D.  Felino 
of  Ferrara.  As  for  the  truth  of  all  my  affirmations,  it 
will  not  be  difficult  for  me  to  prove  it  as  soon  as  the 
need  arises.  Let  your  Holiness  send  here  a  special 
representative,  a  just  man  and  one  above  suspicion,  and 
he  will  be  promptly  and  fully  informed  by  the  whole 
city.  As  for  myself,  I  am  ready  to  amend  in  all  things 
and  in  all  places,  and  to  retract  publicly  all  my  errors. 
If  your  Holiness  will  deign  to  point  out  what  I  am  to 
retract  in  my  writings  and  words,  I  shall  hasten  to 
obey ;  for  now  and  always,  as  I  have  frequently  written 
and  said,  I  submit  my  person,  my  words,  and  my  writ- 
ings to  the  correction  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church  and 
of  your  Holiness,  to  whom  I  commend  myself  and  my 
brethren.    Prostrate  at  your  feet, 

Your  Holiness's  son  and  servant. 

In  consequence  of  the  papal  letter,  Savonarola 
was  declared  suspended  from  preaching,  while  he 
awaited  the  determination  of  his  case  by  the  Vicar 
General   of   the   Lombard   Congregation.  The 


38      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


reader  is  left  to  judge  how  far  the  surmise  is 
correct  that  a  religious  pretext  was  used  for  pick- 
ing a  political  quarrel,  for  striking  a  blow  at  the 
Florentine  Republic.  "  It  was  the  Pope's  desire 
to  reunite  the  said  Congregation  of  Tuscany  (St. 
Mark's)  with  the  old  and  general  Congregation  of 
Lombardy,  in  order  to  remove  the  Friar  from  the 
City  of  Florence  and  to  annul  the  Congregation  of 
his  follovv^ers  and  adherents  ;  and  all  this  had  been 
brought  about  by  the  adversaries  of  the  present 
government,  and  more  especially  by  those  who 
hoped  that  the  city  would  turn  in  favor  of  the 
League  and  the  Medici."  These  significant  words 
are  quoted  from  the  fair-minded  Nardi  ^  a  contem- 
porary Florentine,  whose  history  was  written  in  an 
impartial  spirit.  Beyond  doubt,  had  the  plan  been 
consummated,  Savonarola  could  have  been  dismissed 
from  Florence  and  from  Tuscany  by  the  ordinary 
process  of  an  assignation  to  a  Lombard  convent. 

Complementary  to  the  papal  Brief  addressed  to 
St.  Mark's,  we  append  a  translation  of  the  Brief 
forwarded  to  Blessed  Sebastian  Maggi,  the  Vicar 
General  of  the  Lombard  Congregation  :  — 

Alexander  the  Sixth,  Pope,  to  his  beloved  son,  Brother 
Sebastian  Maggi,  of  the  Order  of  Preachers,  Vicar 
General  of  the  Congregation  of  Lombardy  : 

Beloved  Sox,  —  Health  and  Apostolic  blessing! 
Since  many  and  various  accounts  have  been  brought  to 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


39 


us,  reports  that  are  daily  renewed,  concerning  the  novel 
doctrines  and  scandalous  preaching  of  Brother  Jerome 
Savonarola  of  Ferrara,  a  member  of  your  Order,  and  now 
resident  at  Florence,  we  have  been  deeply  moved  and  dis- 
turbed in  mind;  and  considering  that  such  things,  alto- 
gether foreign  to  our  religion  and  to  human  reason, 
require  a  serious  and  exact  examination,  lest  such  inno- 
vations as  he  has  introduced  both  in  speech  and  in  his 
writings,  breed  scandal  to  the  Christian  people,  and  en- 
danger their  salvation,  as  well  as  his  own,  and  wishing, 
according  to  our  pastoral  office,  to  make  wholesome  pro- 
vision in  this  emergency,  we  admonished  him,  by 
letter  formerly  sent,  that  he  should  come  to  us,  so  that 
by  word  of  mouth  we  might  learn  from  him  the  cause 
and  truth  of  those  things  which  he  had  set  before  his 
people  in  preaching  and  writing. 

But  he  refused  to  come,  and  therefore  it  is  presumed 
that  he  walks  not  according  to  the  law  of  God,  which 
commands  obedience  and  humility.-^  For  this  reason, 
and  that  such  an  error  may  not  pass  unchecked,  through 
connivance  and  negligence,  especially  in  our  daj'',  and 
having  special  confidence  in  your  sincerity  and  virtue, 
we  commission  you  by  this  letter,  and  command  you, 
that  immediately  on  its  receipt,  by  our  Apostolic 
authority,  in  virtue  of  holy  obedience,  and  under 
penalty  of  excommunication  latce  sententicB,  you  will 
summon  the  said  Jerome,  warning  him  and  requiring 
him  to  appear  personally  before  you  within  a  given 

1  Though  this  statement  is  in  contradiction  to  the  facts  (see 
note,  page  16)  the  reader  need  not  ascribe  the  want  of  truth  to 
Alexander.  It  is  probable  that  he  was  not  familiar  with  the 
details  of  the  Briefs  drawn  by  secretaries,  and  sometimes  in- 
spired by  enemies  of  the  Friar. 


40      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


time,  wliicli  you  will  determine,  and  with  all  sincerity 
and  truth  to  give  you  a  complete  explanation  of  his 
sermons  and  published  works. 

We  grant  to  you  full  authority  and  power  to  insti- 
tute a  process,  to  judge  and  decide  this  case,  and  the 
faculty,  as  justice  and  right  may  require,  and  accord- 
ing to  your  Order's  law  and  rule,  to  determine  what 
shall  be  done,  so  that  you  may  punish  him,  or  you  may 
refer  the  matter  to  the  Apostolic  See. 

We  have  also  written  another  Brief  to  the  same 
Jerome  and  to  the  Convent  of  St.  Mark,  Florence,  of 
which  we  enclose  to  you  a  cop}^,  so  that  you  may  have 
full  knowledge  of  its  tenor  ;  and  for  greater  caution 
and  certainty,  we  transmit  to  you  a  second  draft,  which 
you  can  transfer  to  the  said  Jerome  and  his  community. 
Thus,  through  you,  we  shall  have  more  satisfactory  in- 
formation as  to  his  answer  and  obedience,  for,  accord- 
ing to  the  terms  of  the  Brief  mentioned,  we  have 
united  the  monasteries  of  St.  Mark  and  St.  Dominic 
of  your  Order  to  yo\iY  Congregation  of  Lombardy,  so 
that  you  can  in  future  accept  them  and  exercise  care 
over  them.  Endeavor,  therefore,  so  to  conduct  yoiir- 
self  in  this  affair  that  we  may  have  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  the  case  of  the  aforesaid  Brother  Jerome, 
which  is  so  full  of  novelty  and  scandal,  has  been  com- 
mitted to  a  man  of  true  religion  who  fears  God.'^ 

Given,  etc.,  September  9,  1495. 

1  The  original  Latin  text  is  given  in  Luotto  :  Appendix.  He 
was  the  first  to  publish  this  Brief.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that 
no  letters  of  the  B.  Sebastian  Maggi  are  available ;  we  can 
judge,  therefore,  only  from  his  well  known  respect  and  even 
veneration  for  Savonarola,  and  from  the  fact  that  the  latter 
resumed  his  office  and  soon  received  proof  of  the  pontifical 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


41 


During  this  trying  period,  Savonarola  behaved 
prudently;  he  keenly  felt  the  sore  dilemma  in 
which  he  had  been  placed, —  that  of  a  good  man 
put  in  the  wrong,  by  the  abused  instrumentality  of 
religion,  through  calumny  and  persecution;  but 
his  spirit  was  praiseworthy.  We  may  judge  it 
from  a  letter  written  on  the  day  following  his  com- 
munication to  the  Pope.  It  was  addressed  to  an 
unknown  Dominican  in  Rome,  probably  Father 
Niccolo,  who  lived  with  the  Cardinal  Protector  of 
the  Order.^  It  was  dated  September  15.  We  give 
the  full  text :  2  _ 

Reverend  Father  in  Christ,  —  Health  and  peace 
in  Christ  Jesus  ! 

All  who  wish  to  live  piously  in  Christ  Jesus  must 
suffer  persecution.    If,  therefore,  I  would  offer  fleshpots 

favor,  in  the  Prato  affair  (see  opening  paragraph,  page  50), 
that  Sebastian's  decision  was  favorable  to  his  former  subject, 
and  that  Savonarola  remained  in  Florence  by  his  authority. 
St.  Mark's  chronicle  throws  no  light  on  this  phase  of  our  case, 
nor  do  the  archives  of  the  Dominican  Convent,  Bologna,  fur- 
nish any  help.  Certain  words  of  the  Friar  in  the  19th  sermon 
on  Amos  (Lent,  1496)  confirm  our  opinion  that  B.  Sebastian's 
judgment  was  in  support  of  Savonarola;  and  we  may  infer 
that  the  holy  Vicar  of  Lombardy  rendered  the  Prior  of  St.  Mark 
notable  service  at  Rome.  Gherardi  (141-143)  gives  letters  from 
Becchi  which  also  suggest  a  favorable  conclusion  to  the  work 
of  B.  Sebastian.  This  is  a  notable  feature,  the  value  of  which 
we  desire  the  reader  to  recognize.  The  fact  that  Savonarola 
had  expressed  his  doubt  as  to  the  fairness' of  placing  his  case  in 
Sebastian's  hands  only  emphasizes  the  issue  as  arranged  and 
effected  by  the  latter. 

1  Marchese  :  Documenti,  p.  152. 

2  The  original  Latin  may  be  found  in  Perrens,  pp.  356-359. 


42      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


no  one  would  molest  me,  but  because  I  give  the  bread 
that  does  not  fail,  striving  each  day  to  free  the  needy 
from  the  hands  of  the  wicked,  all  curse  me.  I  have 
heard  that  certain  pharisees  have  gone  and  entered 
into  a  scheme  with  Herodians  (that  is,  some  religious 
and  Florentine  citizens,  who  cannot  bear  the  name  of 
peace),  and  plotting  against  me,  have  suggested  to  the 
Pope  many  falsehoods,  provoking  him  against  me. 
Urged  by  them  His  Holiness  has  sent  to  us  a  Brief 
which  has  greatly  disturbed  the  entire  community,  and 
which,  in  almost  all  respects,  contains  many  evident 
untruths. 

I  believe  that  if  His  Holiness  were  aware  of  these 
facts,  he  would  annul  the  Brief  and  punish  the  perpe- 
trators of  fraud.  Since  it  is  not  only  public,  but  noto- 
rious here  in  Florence  that  I  have  neither  said  nor  done 
the  things  of  which  I  am  accused,  w411  not  the  people 
say,  when  they  learn  the  contents  of  this  Brief,  that 
Rome  persecutes  the  innocent  and  just  ?  And  this 
certainly  will  be  a  great  disgrace  to  those  prelates  and 
to  the  Roman  people.^ 

We  have  written  to  His  Holiness,  and  I  enclose  to 
your  Paternity  a  copy  of  the  letter,  earnestly  entreating 
you  to  speak  to  the  most  Reverend  Protector  of  the 
Order,  that  he  will  plead  our  cause  with  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  and  that  the  just  may  not  be  oppressed.  I 
could  mention  certain  religious  and  laymen  who  are  at 
the  bottom  of  this  trouble,  and  I  marvel  how  they  can 
dare  so  treat  me,  after  the  great  benefits  I  have  con- 
ferred on  their  country.    Yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of 

1  Savonarola  invariably  ascribes  his  troubles,  not  to  the 
Pope,  but  to  others  who  deceived  His  Holiness. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS. 


43 


God  in  me  I  And  further,  these  men  should  remember 
that  I  could  put  their  heads  in  danger,  and  their  fam- 
ilies if  I  wished,  since  I  know  well  that  they  are 
striking  at  the  Eepublic. 

But  I  wish  to  render  them  good  for  evil,  as  the 
Gospel  commands,  and  to  pra}'  for  them.  I  fear,  how- 
ever, that  the  unexpected  may  happen  to  them,  and 
that  they  will  fall -into  the  pit  which  the}'  have  dug 
for  others,  because  among  the  people  there  are  strange 
rumors  concerning  them.  I  write  these  things  so  that 
it  may  be  made  known  to  them  that  there  is  nothing 
hidden  which  will  not  be  revealed.  ^Yhile  these  accom- 
plices were  discussing  their  plots,  they  were  secretly 
watched  by  others  who  have  reported  the  proceedings 
through  the  city.  They  even  spoke  about  your  Pater- 
nity in  a  manner  which  has  caused  us  no  little  surprise, 
but  I  count  on  our  old  friendship,  and  so  I  resolved 
to  let  you  know,  that  you  might  take  steps  to  remedy 
the  evil. 

I  also  send  my  answer,  which  is  exhaustive,  to  D 
Felino,  so  that  he  may  know  how  unjust  is  the  proceed- 
ing against  us.  I  ask  your  Paternity  to  join  him  in 
defence  of  our  innocence.  But  if  this  avails  not,  I  am 
ready,  for  the  sake  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  bear  all  that 
may  happen  ;  for  in  patience  I  await  His  tribunal.  I 
know,  T  am  certain,  that  they  have  attacked  us  without 
cause,  yea,  that  they  stone  me  because  of  good  works. 
But  I  fear  them  not,  nor,  hy  the  grace  of  God,  do  I 
fear  their  sword,  for  it  is  sufficient  for  me  that  a  good 
conscience  and  the  grace  of  God  sustain  me  before  the 
Lord. 

•  But  the  time  will  come  when  God  will  reveal  the 


44      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMlINICATEDf 


hidden  things  of  darkness,  and  then  each  one  will  have 
his  due.  Were  I  now  alone  concerned,  I  would  laugh 
at  the  plots  against  me,  nor  would  I  attempt  any 
defence,  because,  as  Pope  Gelasius  wrote,  ^'Whoever 
receives  a  just  penalty,  let  him  put  away  his  wrong 
and  error,  and  it  will  be  blotted  out  ;  but  if  it  be 
unjust  he  ought  to  disregard  it,  insomuch  as,  before 
God  and  the  Church,  an  unjust  decree  binds  no  one. 
And,  therefore,  from  such  a  sentence  one  ought  not 
to  desire  absolution,  seeing  that  he  is  in  no  manner 
bound."  And  St.  Augustine  :  ^'What  matters  it  if 
evil  conscience  does  not  erase  our  name  from  the  book 
of  life?"  But  I  know  the  root  of  all  these  plots.  I 
know  that  they  are  devised  by  wicked  men,  in  league 
with  certain  Italian  rulers,  who  seek  to  usurp  a  tyran- 
nical rule  ;  and  such  men  desire  to  kill  me,  considering 
me  an  impediment  to  their  plans.  Thus  at  almost 
every  corner  snares  are  set  that  my  removal  from  the 
city  may  be  effected.  Hence  it  is  that  I  may  not 
leave  the  convent  without  a  guard. 

As  yet  the  reform  of  the  city  is  incomplete ;  so  like- 
wise is  that  of  our  Congregation,  and  I  feel  certain,  as 
all  admit  and  as  prudent  and  good  men  advise,  that  my 
departure  at  this  time  would  mean  the  overthrow  of  the 
Government  and  the  destruction  of  our  convent.  In 
this  view,  they  cannot  see  how  I  can  conscientiously  leave 
the  city.  Certainly  it  seems  to  me  that  if  His  Holi- 
ness realized  the  situation  he  would  not  order  me  to  go. 

Since,  therefore,  the  intention  of  a  superior  must  be 
regarded,  rather  than  his  words,  and  since  all  I  have 
written  to  yo.u  is  true,  I  ask  your  opinion  as  to  what  I 
should  do,  before  God.   I  entreat  your  Paternity  to  show 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


45 


that  3'ou  are  not  allied  with  those  who  have  planned 
against  us;  to  defend  the  innocent  before  the  most 
Reverend  Protector  of  the  Order,  lest  many  scandals 
arise  in  this  city,  from  which  bloodshed  might  also 
follow. 

Xevertlieless,  if  I  cannot  otherwise  save  my  con- 
science than  by  obeying  the  Brief,  certainly  I  will 
obey,  though  the  ruin  of  the  whole  world  should  be 
the  result ;  for  I  do  not  wish  to  sin  in  this  matter  in 
any  manner,  even  venially.  But  in  this  affair  I  have 
considered  that  it  is  well,  as  the  doctors  teach,  to 
wait. 

The  Grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you.^ 

News  of  the  impending  change  in  the  juris- 
diction of  St.  Mark's  was  soon  spread  tln^ough 
Florence.  "  On  the  17th  of  the  same  month,  Septem- 
ber, the  Signory  addressed  a  beautiful  letter  to  the 
Pope,  highly  extolling  the  merits  of  the  Friar  and 
the  generous  benefits  he  had  conferred  on  the 
city,  for  the  welfare  of  religion.  They  besought 
Alexander  not  to  press  the  matter,  to  leave  St. 
Mark's  and  St.  Dominic's,  Fiesole,  independent, 
and  not  to  withdraw  from  Florence  the  blessing  of 
Savonarola's  presence  and  work,  for  his  very  name 
was  in  benediction  with  the  people.^ 

In  the  meantime  his  hope  was  gratified  by  a 
cheering  word  from  members  of  the  Order  in 
Rome,  that  the  papal  Brief  commanding  and  de- 

1  What  answer  Savonarola  received,  we  know  not.    There  is 
no  letter  to  him  preserved  that  would  apply. 
*  Villari,  ii.,  Appendix,  p.  11. 


46      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED f 

creeing  the  reunion  with  Lombardy  would  be 
revoked.  On  October  26,  he  told  the  ambassador 
of  Ferrara  that  from  day  to  day  he  expected  a  new 
Brief,  and  that  his  friends  in  Rome  had  written 
to  him  that  all  would  be  well,  as  he  had  been 
vindicated  and  justified  in  the  eyes  of  the  Holy 
Father.!  But  his  expectations  were  not  as  yet  to 
be  realized.  On  the  contrary,  he  subsequently 
received  a  third  Brief,  dated  October  16. 

The  full  text  of  the  Pope's  third  letter  is  as 
follows :  ^  — 

Beloved  Son,  —  Health  and  Apostolic  blessing  ! 

Although  we  have  more  fully  explained  to  you,  hy 
another  Brief,  our  great  displeasure  because  of  the  dis- 
turbances among  the  Florentine  people  especially  arising 
from  your  preaching,  inasmuch  as  you,  instead  of  con- 
fining yourself  to  the  work  of  extirpating  vice  and  cul- 
tivating virtue,  have  devoted  your  sermons  to  predic- 
tions of  future  events,  affirming  that  you  had,  as  a 
special  light  from  God,  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  and  because  such  things  frequently  lead  simple 
men  from  the  way  of  salvation  and  of  obedience  to  the 
Holy  Boman  Church  (on  account  of  which  you  should 
have  striven  in  your  preaching  for  peace  and  union, 
and  not  for  the  announcement  of  your  divinations 
which  the  people  call  prophecies;  you  should  have  con- 
sidered that  the  present  condition  of  affairs  is  strongly 

1  Cappelli,  pp.  68,  69. 

2  The  Latin  text  with  correct  date  and  amendments  is  given 
by  Gherardi,  p.  390.  Quetif  (p.  134)  also  prints  the  letter,  but 
with  erroneous  date. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS.  47 


averse  to  such  doctrine  as  you  set  forth,  which  of  itself 
would  he  sufficient  to  raise  discord  where  perfect  peace 
had  heen,  and  how  much  more  where  dissensions  and 
factions  abound),  —  we  are  moved,  therefore,  because  of 
the  danger  to  many  souls,  because  of  our  desire  for  the 
tranquillity  of  the  Florentines,  and  that  we  may  be 
faithful  to  our  pastoral  office,  to  write  to  you  again. 

It  was  not  without  mature  deliberation  that  we 
decided  to  call  you  to  Eome,  that  you  might  clear 
yourself  of  the  charges  made  against  you  (for  if  they 
were  true  they  could  not  be  allowed  to  pass  with  im- 
punity);  but,  learning  from  several  of  our  venerable 
brethren.  Cardinals  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  and 
from  your  own  letter  and  messengers,  that  you  were 
ready  to  submit  yourself,  in  your  words  and  works,  to 
the  correction  of  the  Holy  Eoman  Church  (which  is 
the  duty  of  every  good  Christian  and  religious),  we 
were  greatl}-  rejoiced,  and  began  to  persuade  ourselves 
that  you  had  preached  such  things,  not  from  any  evil 
purpose,  but  through  a  kind  of  simplicity  and  out  of 
zeal  for  cultivating  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  although 
experience  might  teach  us  the  contrary. 

Consequently,  lest  we  should  seem  entirely  negligent 
in  matters  which  suffer  no  carelessness,  we  resolved  to 
write  to  3-0U  this  letter,  in  answer  to  yours.  And 
therefore  we  command  you,  in  virtue  of  holy  obedience, 
to  abstain  altogether  from  preaching,  whether  public 
or  private,  so  that  you  cannot  be  charged  with  having 
left  the  pulpit  only  to  resort  to  private  meetings. 

And  this  condition  you  will  faithfully  observe,  till 
you  are  able,  securely,  conveniently,  in  honor  as  be- 
comes a  religious  (and  not  guarded,  as  we  understand 


48      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATEDf 


by  soldiers),  to  come  and  confer  with  us,  when  we  shall 
receive  you  with  paternal  gladness;  or  till  we  shall 
have  considered  more  maturely  what  our  decision  for 
the  future  will  be.  It  may  be  that  we  shall  send  some 
suitable  and  honorable  man  to  confer  with  you. 

If  you  do  as  we  hope  you  will,  we  shall  then  sus- 
pend the  Brief  which  we  have  written  concerning  you, 
with  all  the  conditions  contained  therein,  so  that  you 
may  enjoy  peace  of  conscience. 

Given,  etc.,  October  16,  1495. 

On  October  26,  this  Brief  was  received  in 
Florence,  and  Savonarola  at  once  submitted  to 
the  suspension  from  preaching,  and  remained  in 
the  seclusion  of  St.  Mark's,  while  Father  Dominic 
occupied  the  pulpit  of  the  Cathedral  during 
Advent.  ^ 

The  Prior  was  well  aware  of  the  political  com- 
plications that  rendered  his  position  more  delicate  ; 
he  knew  that,  under  political  cover,  some  of  his 
enemies  sought  to  destroy  the  work  of  spiritual 
reformation.  Nevertheless  a  purely  religious  ques- 
tion was  the  seeming  issue,  but  without  any 
specific  charge  of  false  doctrine  that  he  could 
directly  meet.  He  accepted  the  prohibition  im- 
posed by  the  Pontiff  and  bore  the  ignominy  of  an 
accusation  easily  made,  and  with  difficulty  refuted, 
—  a  general  charge  of  dangerous  and  false  teaching. 

1  Luotto,  484.  Father  Bayonne  (p.  87)  says  that  Savona- 
rola addressed  a  written  answer  to  the  Pope,  on  receipt  of  the 
Brief  of  October  16,  but  Father  Ferretti  assures  me  that  he 
knows  of  no  such  letter. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


49 


But  his  friends  were  not  passive.  The  Signory 
were  unflagging  in  their  efforts  to  secure  permis- 
sion for  him  to  resume  his  preaching.  Becchi, 
their  envoy  in  Rome,  was  instructed  to  secure  this 
favor  either  by  Brief  or  by  a  vivce  vocis  (verbal) 
concession.  1  The  Cardinal  of  Naples,  Protector  of 
the  Dominican  Order,  was  urged  in  most  earnest 
letters  to  prevail  on  His  Holiness  to  grant  to 
Florence,  as  a  crowning  act  of  gracious  indulgence, 
the  privilege  and  opportunity  of  again  hearing 
Savonarola,  who  was  described  by  the  Signory  as  a 
man  of  rare  virtues,  of  extraordinarily  fruitful 
labors,  and  as  a  singular  benefactor  of  the  Re- 
public. They  stigmatized  the  malice  of  his 
enemies,  and  deplored  the  deception  that  had 
been  put  upon  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  by  wicked 
men  slandering  a  true  servant  of  God.^ 

For  a  long  time  the  Pope  continued  inflexible. 
Though  his  Briefs  seem  based  on  questions  of 
doctrine,  the  correspondence  of  ambassadors  would 
indicate  that  politics  were  the  main  spring.  For 
instance,  the  Florentine  envoy  wrote,  on  December 
28,  that  Alexander  was  irritated  against  the  Re- 
public because  Florence  would  not  join  the  League, 
and  that  he  regarded  the  Florentines  "  as  if  they 
had  given  up  the  Holy  Sepulchre  into  the  hands 
of  the  infidels.  "3 

1  Gherardi,  p.  132. 

2  Letters  of  Nov.  13  and  17,  1405,  and  of  Jan.  28  and  Feb.  5, 
1496.    See  Gherardi,  pp.  130-133. 

®  Bayonne,  p.  87. 

4 


50 


WAS 


SAVONAROLA 


EXCOMMUiMCA  TED  ? 


U96. 

With  the  opening  of  the  New  Year,  1496,  a 
remarkable  occurrence  took  place.  The  Domini- 
can Convent  of  Prato,  which  had  been  sadly  in 
need  of  reform,  was  placed  by  Alexander's  author- 
ity, under  the  jurisdiction  of  Savonarola  as  Vicar 
of  St.  Mark's  Congregation. ^  This  pontifical  ac- 
tion was  not  only  an  expression  of  high  regard 
and  confidence,  but  by  recognizing  Savonarola  as 
Vicar,  practically  annulled  the  preceding  Brief, 
which  had  discontinued  the  independent  Congre- 
gation of  Tuscany.2  Thus  the  condition  of  ad- 
ministration and  jurisdiction  prevailing  before 
Alexander  had  summoned  Savonarola  to  Rome 
was  restored. 

It  was  probably  at  this  time  that,  through 
Fatlier  Louis  of  Ferrara,  Procurator  General  of 
the  Order,  the  offer  of  a  Cardinal's  hat  was  made 
to  the  Friar,  if  he  would  change  his  method  of 
preaching.^    His  answer  is  well  known.  Hearing 

1  For  all  the  documents,  see  Gherardi,  pp.  69-84, 

2  The  pontifical  letter  of  Oct.  16,  1495  had  already  suspended 
this  Brief  of  incorporation,  as  Savonarola  had  complied  with 
the  conditions.  The  Brief  of  Nov.  7,  1496,  not  only  does  not 
regard  St.  Mark's  as  then  attached  to  Lombardy,  but  names,  in 
detail,  the  houses  of  that  jurisdiction  which,  with  St.  Mark's  and 
other  communities,  were  to  form  a  new  province.  From  this 
we  rightly  infer  that  the  Pontiff  had  quashed  his  order  of  Sept. 
8,  1495,  and  that  Savonarola's  power  as  Vicar  was  recognized 
on  the  occasion  of  the  Prato  reform, 

3  Burlamacchi,  ]).  551. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS.  51 


it,  Alexander  remarked :  "  That  man  is  perhaps 
a  great  servant  of  God.  Speak  no  more  to  me 
about  him,  either  good  or  ill."  ^ 

Among  the  brethren  selected  to  renew  the  com- 
munity at  Prato  was  Father  Antony  d'OUandia, 
who,  as  prior,  at  once  requested  that  a  preacher 
be  sent  to  him.  Savonarola  answered  that  if  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  pennitted  him  to  speak,  he  would 
send  them  Father  Dominic,  who  had  been  held  in 
reserve  for  Florence,  because  of  his  own  enforced 
silence.  And  that  their  hopes  might  be  realized 
he  besought  special  prayers.^ 

We  emphasize  this  fact,  illustrating,  as  it  does, 
Savonarola's  submission  and  obedience.  On  Feb- 
ruary 11,  the  Signory  unanimously/  decreed  that 
"the  Venerable  Prior,  Friar  Jerome  Savonarola 
should  resume  his  preaching  during  Lent,  or 
before,  in  the  Cathedral,  or  in  any  other  church  of 
the  City."^    Savonarola  refused,  until  he  should 

1  Bayonne,  p.  90. 

2  Gherardi  (p.  85)  gives  this  letter,  in  Latin,  dated  the  Feast 
of  the  Purilication.  In  it  Savonarola  tells  Father  Antony  that 
the  special  prayers  of  the  Community  of  St.  Mark's,  begging  for 
the  desired  relief,  will  include  tlie  singing  of  the  Alma  Redemp- 
toris  Mater,  each  morning;  ^f  the  Ave  Retina  and  the  Recordare 
Virgo  Mater,  each  evening ;  and  the  recitation  of  the  Seven 
Penitential  Psalms,  after  Complin.  He  directs  that  the  Com- 
munity of  Prato  shall  offer  the  same  devotions,  adding :  "  I 
believe  that  if  we  pray  fervently  we  shall  obtain  this  favor 
from  God,  and  that  there  will  be  great  fruit  for  souls." 

The  piety  of  the  Friar,  and  his  marked  veneration  for  our 
Lady  are  here  beautifully  evidenced. 
Gherardi,  p.  133. 


52      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


receive  the  Pope's  permission.  The  Signory  had 
expected  this  difficult}^  and  fortunately  were  able 
to  meet  it  in  a  satisfactory  way.  Their  persistent 
efforts  had  finally  prevailed.  The  Cardinals  of 
Naples  and  Perugia  had  persuaded  the  Pope  to 
relent  in  his  opposition  to  the  Friar,  and  Alexander 
granted  a  verbal  permission  for  Savonarola  to  re- 
sume his  preaching.! 

1  Nardi,  L.  ii.,  p.  56 ;  Andrea  Bernardi,  also  a  contemporary, 
in  his  "  Cronica  Forlivese "  quoted  by  the  Quarto  Centenario, 
which  discusses  this  point  very  clearly,  pp.  140,  141 ;  Marchese : 
"San  Marco,"  p.  118,  and  "  Documenti,"  p.  151;  Villari,  ii.  47; 
Bayonne,  p.  88 ;  Del  Lungo,  Letter  v.,  p.  9 ;  Gherardi,  pp.  129- 
148,  gives  a  series  of  Becchi's  letters,  though  none  are  abso- 
lutely satisfactory ;  Luotto,  pp.  487-497,  who  is  conclusive  and 
convincing.  Against  these  competent  authorities,  men  of  scru- 
pulously careful  investigation,  Pastor,  who  made  no  original 
study  of  the  Friar,  sets  the  names  of  Cipolla,  Cosci,  and  Perrens. 
Let  us  judge  their  value.  Cipolla's  work,  "Le  Signorie  Italians 
dal  1300  al  1530"  (Milano,  1881),  as  its  name  indicates,  does  not 
deal  particularly  with  Savonarola.  In  passing,  Cipolla  touches 
the  career  of  the  Friar,  and  (p.  735)  states  that  he  resumed  his 
preaching  without  the  consent  of  the  Pope.  This  opinion,  he 
has,  however,  revised.  I  am  informed  by  Father  Ferretti  that 
a  change  in  Cipolla's  work,  on  this  point,  will  follow,  in  a  later 
edition,  the  author's  conviction  that  Luotto,  to  whose  arguments 
and  testimonies  he  has  yielded,  was  right. 

As  to  Cosci's  writings  (embodied  in  the  Archivio  Storico 
Italiano,  torn,  iv.,  D.  V.  e  vi.,  del  1879,  a  pagine  282  e  429),  it  is 
sufficient  to  remark  that,  while  dissenting  from  the  consensus  of 
historians  in  favor  of  the  permission,  he  offers  no  convincing 
argument,  cites  no  determining  authority  in  support  of  his  own 
statement;  rather  he  expresses  himself  as  disposed  to  admit 
that  the  faculty  was  granted  by  the  Pope.  In  other  words, 
Cosci  gives  no  authority  to  Pastor.  Perrens,  in  his  "Life  of 
Savonarola"  (p.  158),  seems  to  allow  that  the  Friar  had  the  papal 
license  to  resume  his  preaching,  but  he  does  not  discuss  the 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS.  53 


On  F'ebruary  16,  he  announced  that,  having 
received  the   pontifical  authorization,  he  would 

question.  Pastor  refers  to  him  as  against  it,  in  his  "  History  of 
Florence,"  ii.  205.  I  have  consulted  the  passage.  The  French- 
man is  clear  in  his  statement,  but  it  is  notable  that  he  leans 
chiefly  on  Cosci,  a  broken  reecl,  as  we  have  seen.  Moreover, 
Perrens's  bias  is  apparent,  and  as  he  fails  to  support  his  positive 
dicti^  by  any  contemporary  evidence,  and  as  he  wrote,  moreover, 
in  ignorance  of  the  latest  testimonies  brought  to  light,  prudent 
and  fair-minded  readers  will  not  be  influenced  by  his  peremp- 
tory declaration,  against  the  weight  of  authority  cited  in  favor 
of  the  Friar,  as  well  as  against  the  Friar's  own  reputation  for 
sincerity  and  truth. 

Our  readers  who  consider  these  facts  and  references  will 
recognize  that  neither  Cosci  nor  Perrens  nor  both  of  them  can 
give  Pastor  any  authority.  They  will  also  rightly  estimate  the 
value  of  Pastor's  sneering  conclusion  that  the  religious,  who 
found  so  many  excuses  for  evading  the  commands  of  his 
supreme  spiritual  superior,  was  prompt  to  comply  with  the 
commands  of  a  temporal  authority  in  regard  to  ecclesiastical 
matters,  ("  History  of  the  Popes,"  Eng.  trans,  vi.  11;  and  his 
"Zur  Beurtheilung  Savonarolas,"  p.  G5.)  In  both  works  he 
quotes  Cosci  and  Cipolla,  and  in  the  latter,  Perrens.  Had  he 
availed  of  Luotto's  study  which  he  vainly  attempted  to  answer, 
he  should  at  least,  have  modified  his  reference  to  Cosci.  On 
the  German  historian's  added  charge  "  that  the  Friar  never  ven- 
tured to  maintain  that  any  sucli  permission  had  been  granted" 
(History  of  the  Popes,  vi.  10),  we  remark:  The  letter  (see  Del 
Lungo)  of  Somenzi  to  the  Duke  of  Milan,  states  the  direct  con- 
trary ;  and  unless  Savonarola  is  to  be  accused  of  utter  insin- 
cerity and  falsehood  we  must  take  his  positive  word  that  he  had 
received  permission,  with  his  former  declaration  that  he  would 
not  preach  unless  tlie  Pope  consented.  Nor  has  Pastor  a  right 
to  demand  any  formal  announcement  to  this  effect  in  his  ser- 
mons. To  have  awaited  a  gathering  of  the  people  in  the 
church,  and  then  to  have  informed  them,  was  not  only  not 
necessary,  for  in  talkative  Florence  news  soon  spread,  and  the 
throng  that  greeted  the  Friar  in  the  Duomo  was  proof  sufficient 
that  they  had  heard  the  tidings  of  his  restoration,  but  besides, 


54      WAS  SAVOXAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


accede  to  the  Signory's  request.  His  Lenten 
sermons  were  extremely  vigorous.  The  Pope 
was  incensed,  and  freely  expressed  his  indignation 
to  Becchi,  the  Florentine  envoy,  because  the 
Republic,  supported  by  the  Friar,  would  not  join 
the  League  against  the  French  ;  and  he  was  even 
more  vehement  in  an  interview  with  Bishop  Pan- 
dolfini,  who  had  gone  to  Rome,  as  a  special  ambas- 
sador of  the  Florentines,  to  placate  Alexander.^ 

Savonarola's  energetic  denunciations  of  the  vices 
of  Italian  prelates  and  tyrants  were  skilfully  used 
by  the  Arrahhiati  and  the  ^ledici  to  stir  up  the 
neighboring  princes  against  him.  The  scheming 
politicians  were  joined  by  the   Tepidi  and  the 

lie  neither  could  nor  -would  have  taken  such  a  step,  for  till  the 
people  knew  it  was  lawful  for  him  to  preach  it  was  not  lawful 
for  them  to  hear.  However,  had  Pastor  not  been  content, 
before  passing  such  a  rigorous  sentence,  with  second-hand  author- 
ities, had  he  consulted  the  Friar's  sermons,  he  would  have 
found  positive  evidence  against  himself,  and  positive  evidence 
that  the  Friar  did  make  public  the  fact  that  his  preaching  Avas 
licit.  In  the  first  discourse  for  that  Lent,  Savonarola  refers  to 
the  mercy  of  God  in  his  return  to  the  pulpit,  obtained  through 
the  prayers  of  the  devout.  And  in  the  thirty-fifth  of  the  series 
he  is  even  more  explicit. 

Moreover,  we  find  that  shortly  after  Lent,  he  was  formally 
delegated  by  the  Master  General,  to  confer  the  veil  on  certain 
nuns.  In  this  document  the  Master  General  addresses  him  not 
onl}'  as  Vicar  General  of  St.  Mark's  Congregation,  but  further 
he  employs  the  unusual  and  marked  title  of  the  "  Venerable 
Father  Jerome."  See  Gherardi,  pp.  68,  69,  for  letter.  Had 
Savonarola's  Lenten  discourses  been  delivered  in  defiance  of  the 
Pope,  the  head  of  the  Dominican  Order  would  not  have  so  acted 
or  written.  But  enough  for  our  present  purpose ! 
^  Marchese :  Documenti,  pp.  140-1")1 ;  Villari,  ii.  91. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS. 


55 


Compagnacci,  who  with  exquisite  irony  and  cyni- 
cism constituted  themselves  the  champions  of 
insulted  (?)  religion,  and  poured  into  the  Roman 
Court  a  torrent  of  accusations  against  the  fearless 
Friar.  "  Of  all  the  infamous  deeds  which  are 
told  of  the  closing  years  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
there  is  not  one  more  characteristic  nor  worse 
than  this,  in  w^hich  infamous  calumny,  fraud,  im- 
piety, contempt  for  everything  sacred,  and,  above 
all,  for  the  Vicar  of  Christ  and  of  His  Church, 
seem  triumphant."  ^ 

Towards  the  end  of  Lent,  the  Pope  ordered  two 
Cardinals  and  two  Bishops,  with  the  General  of 
the  Dominicans  and  several  masters  in  theology, 
to  institute  a  judicial  process  against  the  Prior. 
He  convoked  a  meeting  of  these  ecclesiastics  in 
his  own  palace  on  April  3.  He  declared  to  them 
that  he  was  determined  to  punish  Savonarola 
as  superstitious,  disobedient  to  the  Holy  See,  sehis- 
maticcd,  and  heretical?'  Through  the  entreaties  of 
the  Florentine  ambassador  the  Bishop  of  Capaccio 
obtained  a  respite,  and  shortly  afterwards  the 
Pope  expressed  himself  as  satisfied  with  the  case 
of  Savonarola,  because  of  the  answers  from  the 
Signory,  wdio  had  assured  him  of  the  Friar's  good 

1  Luotto,  p.  527. 

2  Bayonne,  p.  89;  Gherardi,  142;  Perrens,  p.  184;  and  never- 
theless, as  Becchi,  tlie  Florentine  envoy,  informed  his  Govern- 
ment, the  chief  charge  against  Savonarola  was  that  he  u-gs  the 
cause  of  all  the  miseries  of  Picro  tic'  Medici.  His  letter  (Italian)  is 
published  by  Perrens,  pp.  301,  3G2. 


56      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED^ 

dispositions.  So  Becclii  wrote  to  "  The  Ten  "  on 
April  4.i 

But  by  plots  and  slanders,  which  in  that  age 
dis|)uted  with  poison  and  dagger  a  place  of  emi- 
nence in  Italian  politics,  the  campaign  against 
Savonarola  was  continued  during  the  summer. 
Contemporary  political  events,  the  sermons  of 
the  Friar,  and  those  of  his  rivals  Avould  have  to 
be  presented  in  detail  to  bring  this  fact  out  vividly ; 
suffice  it  to  say  that  zeal  for  truth,  for  the  welfare 
of  Florence,  and  for  the  honor  of  the  Church  shine 
conspicuous  in  the  life  and  words  of  the  Prior  of 
St.  Mark's,  and  in  noble  contrast  to  the  deportment 
and  utterances  of  those  opponents  who  skilfully 
wove  a  web  for  his  ruin.^  Even  in  his  own 
Order  he  was  not  spared  sharp  comment  and 
active  hostility.  During  the  early  autumn  the 
Pope  had  occasion  to  speak  of  Savonarola  to  a 
certain  Father  Francis  Mei,  afterwards  Procuratoi 
General  of  the  Dominican  Order,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded Father  Louis  of  Ferrara  as  visitor  to  some 
of  the  Tuscan  convents  in  which  grave  disorders 
were  prevalent.  Father  ]\Iei  had  conceived  a  dis- 
like for  Savonarola,  because  the  latter  had  revealed 
to  him  some  secret  fault,  saying,  "  You  lean  upon 
a  reed  that  will  yet  pierce  your  hand.    One  day 

1  Gherardi,  pp.  142-144;  Bayonne,  p.  89. 

-  Luotto,  p.  527,  note.  In  chapter  32,  this  author  draws  a 
striking  picture  of  the  unhappy  condition  resulting  from  the 
plots  of  Savonarola's  enemies. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS.  57 

you  will  go  to  Rome,  and  there  you  will  fight 
against  me." 

He  fulfilled  the  prophecy,  for  it  was  he  who 
persuaded  the  Pope  that  the  only  way  to  over- 
come all  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Florentines 
would  be  to  institute  a  new  Congregation  or 
Province,  in  which  would  be  fused  all  the  con- 
vents belonging  to  the  Tuscan  Congregation  which 
included  St.  Mark's.  By  this  means  Savonarola, 
having  been  stripped  of  his  dignity  of  Vicar 
General,  would,  at  the  close  of  his  term  of  office 
as  Prior  of  St.  Mark's,  be  reduced  to  the  rank  of 
a  simple  religious.  As  such  he  could  be  sent 
from  Florence  by  the  Superior  of  the  new  Con- 
gregation, and  then  the  city  could  be  easily 
diverted  from  the  French  alliance.^  This  advice 
decided  the  Pope's  action.  The  extraordinary, 
entirely  unexpected,  and  hitherto  unthought-of 
change  was  decreed  by  Alexander,  who  on 
November  7,  signed  the  following  Brief :  ^  — 

Beloved  Sons,  —  Health  and  Apostolic  blessing! 
Being  anxious  for  the  reformation  and  increase  of 
your  holy  Order,  as  is  our  duty,  and  as  is  most  pleasing 

1  Bayonne,  pp.  90,  91. 

2  Bullarium,  iv.,  124,  125.  The  Brief  was  addressed  to  the 
priors  and  communities  of  the  sixteen  convents  which  were 
to  compose  the  new  province :  The  Minerva  and  St.  Sabina's, 
Rome;  St.  Mary  ad  Gradus,  Viterbo ;  St.  Mary  of  the  Oak,  near 
Viterbo ;  The  Holy  Spirit,  Siena ;  St.  Catherine,  Pisa ;  St.  Domi- 
nic, San  Gemignano  ;  St.  Dominic,  Pistoia  ;  St.  Dominic,  Prato  ; 
St.  Remain,  Lucca ;  St.  Agnes,  Montepulciano ;  St.  Dominic 
Perugia ;  St.  Dominic,-  Corbara ;  St.  Mary  of  the  Rock ;  St. 
Dominic,  Fiesole ;  and  St.  Mark,  Florence. 


58      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUyiCATED? 


to  the  great  Creator,  and  advantageous  to  the  piety  of 
the  devout  faithful,  we  cheerfully  undertake  whatever 
may  provide,  usefully  and  profitably,  under  God,  for 
the  laudable  preservation  of  rites,  customs,  and  religious 
observance  in  all  your  houses,  and  for  their  more 
vigorous  growth  and  prosperity. 

Moved  by  this  desire,  and  hopiiig  that  by  forming  a 
new  Congregation  out  of  the  houses  withdrawn  from 
the  Lombard  Province,  with  those  of  .  .  .  ^  to  be  known 
as  the  Tusco-Eoman  Province,  and  to  be  under  its  own 
Yicar,  we  have  so  arranged,  trusting  that  from  this 
fusion  there  will  come  great  increase  of  piety  and 
observance,  to  the  advantage  of  these  communities. 
The  nearness  to  one  another  of  these  convents  will 
enable  the  Yicar  more  easily  to  make  his  visitations, 
and  the  brethren,  with  less  difficulty,  to  confer  with 
him. 

Of  our  own  prompting,  therefore,  and  not  at  the 
instance  of  any  petition,  of  our  own  kindness  and 
knowledge,  we  separate  these  convents  from  the  Con- 
gregation of  Lombardy  and  from  the  jurisdiction  of  its 
Yicar,  nor  by  this  do  we  wish  that  any  loss  or  injury 
should  accrue  to  these  houses. 

And  by  our  Apostolic  authority  we  also  decree,  for 
now  and  for  all  future  time,  that  the  said  houses,  as 
well  as  the  others  named,  from  the  Eoman  and  Tuscan 
provinces,  are  united  in  one  Congregation  of  regular 
observance,  to  be  known  as  the  Tusco-Roman,  immedi- 
ately subject  to  a  Yicar  and  the  Master  General  of  your 

1  See  preceding  foot-note.  The  houses  that  had  been  under 
Lombard  jurisdiction  were  those  of  St.  Sabina,  St.  Mary  of  the 
Oak,  Pisa,  Siena,  San  Gemignano. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


59 


Order.  For  this  first  time  and  for  a  period  of  two  years, 
the  Vicar  shall  be  appointed  by  our  A'enerable  Brother, 
Oliver  Caraffa,  Bishop  of  Sabina,  Cardinal  of  Naples, 
after  consultation  with  our  beloved  son,  your  Master 
General.  On  the  expiration  of  this  term  said  Vicar 
will  be  considered  absolved  from  office,  at  whicli  time 
an  election  will  be  held  according  to  the  manner  pre- 
scribed in  your  Constitutions  for  the  election  of  a 
Provincial.  .  .  } 

Moreover,  we  order  and  strictly  command,  in  virtue 
of  holy  obedience,  all  the  brethren  belonging  in  any  way 
to  these  houses  to  return  at  once,  nor  can  any  one 
leave  this  Tusco-Roman  Congregation  without  the 
special  permission  of  the  Vicar.  .  .  .  ^ 

We  wish,  moreover,  and  in  virtue  of  holy  obedience 
by  this  present  letter  we  strictly  command,  under 
penalt}^  of  excommunication  latce  sententlcB,  each  and 
ever}'  one,  no  matter  of  what  condition  state,  dignity, 
or  grade,  forbidding  all  concerned  either  to  presume 
or  dare,  directly  or  indirectly,  of  themselves  or  by 
others,  in  any  manner  whatsoever,  under  an}'-  color  or 
pretext,  to  contradict  or  impede  this  our  letter.  And 
should  aught  such  be  attempted,  either  knowingly  or  in 
ignorance,  we  here  and  now  pronounce  it  null  and 
void. 

Thus  the  work  of  reform  committed  to  the  Con- 
gregation of  St.  Mark's,  was,  as  the  chronicler  of 

1  Here  follow  certain  instructions  as  to  elections  and 
vacancies. 

Here  follows  an  enumeration  of  privileges  to  the  newly 
formed  Congrejjation. 


60      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


the  Convent  of  Pisa  wrote,  "smothered  in  its 
cradle;"^  while  the  community  of  St.  Mark's, 
numbering  almost  three  hundred  (many  of  them 
young),  chiefly  recruited  from  the  noblest  families 
of  Tuscany,  and  leading  a  life  of  strictest  observ- 
ance, were  ordered  to  fraternize  with  men  whom 
the  chronicle  of  the  Convent  of  Siena  designates 
as  "  vagabond  friars  who  were  the  refuse  of  the 
Order,  utterly  unworthy,'^  and  who  were  to  be 
gathered  in  from  various  parts  of  the  country,"  ^  to 
form  a  part  of  the  new  province. 

Father  Mei  well  knew  that  neither  Savona- 
rola nor  his  religious  could  justly  approve  such 
an  arrangement,  because  perfect  observance  (for 
which  they  had  suffered  and  had  detached  them- 
selves from  the  Lombard  Congregation)  would 
have  been  impracticable,  on  account  of  the  unruly 
elements  thus  brought  together  in  the  proj)osed 
fusion.  This  plotting  religious  politician  argued, 
therefore,  that  Savonarola  would  thus  become 
responsible  for  the  expected  resistance  of  his 
community,  thereby  arousing  the  Pope's  anger, 
and,  as  disobedient,  incurring  the  severe  pontifical 
penalties.  And  so  it  happened  that  Savonarola 
was  betrayed  by  one  of  his  own,  and  after  his 
death,  to  certain  persons  who  complained  of  the 
cruel  treatment  inflicted  on  him,  Alexander  re- 

1  Luotto,  p.  511. 

2  Mirandola,  ii.  4,  who  refers  to  their  houses  as  dens  of 
robbers. 

*  Bayonne,  p.  93. 


PACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS. 


61 


plied,  ill  the  words  of  Pilate :  -'It  was  your  nation 
and  your  high-priests  who  delivered  him  into  my 
hands."  1 

On  December  12,  the  new  Vicar  General,  Father 
James^  of  Sicily,  was  appointed,  and  to  him  Savona- 
rola at  once  rendered  obedience,^  though  he  re- 
tained, as  by  right,  his  office  of  Prior  of  St.  Mark's 
Convent  (wliich  was  distinct  from  that  of  Vicar 
of  St.  Mark's  Congregation),  in  which  he  had  not 
been  disturbed. 

U97. 

In  March,  1497,  Bracci,  the  special  Florentine 
envoy  who  had  been  sent  to  Rome  to  negotiate  the 
affair  of  the  League  against  the  French,  reported 
an  interview  with  the  Pope,  during  which  the 
latter  promised  the  restoration  of  Pisa  to  the 
Republic,  "if  the  Florentines  would  show  them- 
selves good  Italians  by  renouncing  the  French 
alliance,  and  by  ceasing  to  confide  in  the  parable- 
making  Friar."  Alexander  also  complained  that 
the  Signory  permitted  Savonarola  to  revile  him  ;  ^ 

1  Bavonne,  p.  95. 

2  Luotto,  p.  514;  Gherardi,  p.  146;  Burlamacchi,  580,  who 
says  that  Father  James,  himself  a  man  of  sanctity,  entertained 
a  marked  veneration  for  Savonarola. 

^  So  the  plotters  had  falsely  declared  to  the  Pope.  It  was 
also  sought  to  excite  irritation  against  the  Friar  in  Florence, 
through  the  Florentine  merchants  in  Rome  who  wrote  appeal- 
ingly  to  the  Signory  of  the  danger  to  their  interests,  by  threat- 
ened reprisals  on  the  part  of  the  angry  Pontiff,  because  of  the 


62      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED^ 


and  added,  If  the  Friar  refuses  to  obey  the  Brief 
commanding  him  to  join  the  Tusco-Roman  Con- 
gregation, I  shall  compel  him  by  censures,  and 
even  by  excommunication."  ^ 

The  Florentines  answered,  through  the  proper 
office,  that  they  were  good  Italians;  recounted  the 
great  services  of  the  Friar ;  denied  that  he  had 
insulted  His  Holiness  or  mentioned  any  one  by 
name  in  his  sermons,  and  branded  those  who  spoke 
against  him  as  slanderers  and  opponents  of  the 
moral  reform  which  Savonarola  had  wrought.^  The 
Arrahhiati,  the  Compagnacei^  all  the  enemies  of 
good  government  and  of  public  decency,  rejoiced 
to  see  the  Friar  under  the  pontifical  displeasure, 
and  about  to  be  "  crushed,"  as  he  himself  expressed 
it,  "between  the  keys  of  Peter."  ^ 

The  political  hatred  and  the  moral  malignity  of 
these  unworthy  men  received  help  from  a  quarter 

Republic's  defence  of  Savonarola.  See  Gherardi  (pp.  205,  206) 
for  their  letter  (Italian)  in  full. 

1  We  suggest  that  this  declaration  of  the  Pope  indicates  that 
he  had  not  previously  intended  to  excommunicate  Savonarola, 
despite  the  terms  of  the  Brief  of  May  13,  1497,  which  may  have 
been  surreptitiously  inserted.  The  discrepancies  and  contra- 
dictions apparent  in  the  various  pontifical  letters  and  the  fact 
that  forgeries  had  occurred  at  this  time,  perpetrated  by  un- 
worthy secretaries,  arouse  the  suspicion  that  the  over-taxed 
Pope  was  not  familiar  with  the  contents  of  all  the  documents 
regarding  the  Prior  of  St.  Mark's. 

2  Gherardi  (pp.  148-100)  gives  the  correspondence,  including 
letters  from  Becchi,  as  well  as  instructions  from  the  Florentine 
Department  of  State. 

3  Bayonne,  p.  99. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS. 


63 


not  usually  fomid  in  alliance  with  such  forces. 
During  Lent  two  Augustinian  preachers  used  the 
pulpit  as  a  political  platform  from  which  they 
reviled  Savonarola.  One  spoke  in  Florence,  the 
other  in  Home.  The  latter  was  tlie  well-known 
Mariano  of  Gennezzano,  who  had  been  condemned 
for  his  participation  in  ]\Iedicean  plots,  and  dared 
not  return  to  Florence,  but  who  nursed  in  Rome, 
with  the  exiled  and  dissolute  Piero,  the  chagrin  of 
his  defeat  by  Savonarola,  till  it  became  a  furious 
passion  of  vindictiveness.  Even  in  th^  Pope's 
presence  he  outraged  the  proprieties  of  the  pulpit 
b}'  demanding  of  the  Holy  Father  th^it  he  should 
"  cut  off  this  monster  from  the  Church."'  ^ 

That  Savonarola  expected  the  fulmination  of 
a  censure,  as  the  result  of  the  political  plots  of 
his  enemies  and  of  the  enemies  of  the  Republic, 
who  were  unflagging  in  repeating  their  calumnies 
to  the  Pope,  we  can  judge,  in  a  special  manner, 
from  his  own  words.  "  Many  declare,"  he  said, 
"that  the  excommunication  will  come.  Do  you 
not  know  that  they  who  seek  usually  find  ?  Last 
year  they  did  not  succeed,  but  now  I  pray  God 
that  it  may  soon  come.  I  fear  it  not,  for  I  have 
done  no  wrong.  Let  it  be  borne  in  on  the  point 
of  a  spear;  open  the  gates  for  it.    Then  I  shall 

1  Xardi,  1.  ii.,  p.  58;  Quetif,  p.  224;  Marchcse  :  Scritti  Vari,  i. 
225.  Gentle  and  religious  lancruage,  assuredly!  It  is  not 
strange  that  the  Pope  did  not  approve  snob  insolence,  or  that 
the  Cardinals  who  were  present  expressed  their  marked  dis- 
pleasure. 


64      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


answer  it,  in  such  manner  that  you  will  wonder 
at  the  multitude  who  will  turn  pale.  In  Rome 
one  ^  fights  against  me,  but  religion  is  not  his  in- 
spiration. They  would  excommunicate  me  because 
I  have  done  good.  Had  I  wished  to  be  a  flatterer, 
I  Avould  not  now  be  in  Florence,  endangered,  nor 
would  I  wear  this  patched  cloak. ^  Thy  Cross,  O 
Lord,  is  my  only  ambition.  For  it  I  pray.  Grant 
me,  O  Lord,  that  I  may  not  die  on  my  bed,  but 
that  I  may  shed  my  blood  for  Thee  Who  hast 
poured  out  all  Thine  for  me."^ 

About  the  end  of  Lent  a  new  calumniator  took 
the  field,  —  J ohn  Victor  de  Camerino,  a  theologian 
of  some  repute,  who  "exposed  "what  he  called  the 
false  teaching  of  Savonarola.  Having  received  as 
pay  for  his  labor  a  measure  of  Florentine  justice, 
first  a  prison  and  then  banishment,  he  went  to 
Rome,  and  there  made  common  cause  with  Mariano. 
Both  waited  on  the  Pope,  and  urged  him  to  strike 
the  decisive  blow.  The  Florentine  ambassador 
endeavored  to  counteract  their  efforts  by  assur- 
ing Alexander  that  the  two  were  not  only  calumnia- 
tors of  Savonarola,  but  enemies  also  of  Florence, 
the  interests  of  which  His  Holiness  professed  to 
have  at  heart.* 

The  conspiracy,  represented  at  Rome  by  Piero 

1  Mariano,  to  whom  Nardi,  1.  ii.,  pp.  62,  63,  ascribes  much  of 
Savonarola's  trouble. 

2  A  reference  to  the  offer  of  the  Cardinalate. 

3  Sermon  22  on  Ezechiel. 

*  Bayonne,  p.  102  ;  Gherardi,  p.  158, 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


65 


de'  Medici,  his  brother  the  Cardinal,  Cardinal 
Sforza,  Mariano,  and  the  exiled  Mediceans,  and  at 
Florence  by  the  Arrabhiati  and  the  libertines,  had 
been  well  planned.^  These  worthies  had  slandered 
their  victim  too  viciously,  the  Pontiff  they  had 
too  cunningly  deceived,  too  persistently  harassed 
and  angered,  to  suffer  defeat  of  their  foul  purpose. 
Savonarola  was  doomed.^  As  Becchi  wrote  to 
Florence,  the  affair  had  been  so  well  arranged  by 
the  Friar's  enemies  that  "  the  medicine  took  imme- 
diate effect,"  ^  —  the  conspirators'  final  appeal  to  the 
Pope  to  sign  the  long  expected  anathema  meeting 
with  success  on  May  13.*  Previously  to  the  recep- 
tion in  Florence  of  the  sentence,  and  indeed  be- 
fore its  despatch  from  Rome  was  known,  "  The 
Ten"  or  State  Department,  as  we  may  freely 
designate  this  branch  of  the  Republic's  govern- 
ment, having  been  warned  by  Bracci,  the  special 
envoy  at  Rome,  of  the  impending  blow,  addressed 
to  the  Pope  a  respectful  protest  and  expostula- 
tion.^ They  declared  that  "  Friar  Jerome  never 
pointed  his  reproaches  at  any  one  in  particular, 
that  his  preaching  had  borne  abundant  fruit  in  the 

1  Nardi,  pp.  62,  63 ;  Gherardi,  pp.  163,  166,  167. 

2  Burlamacchi  (p.  551)  says  that  the  Pope  had  been  brought 
to  a  mortal  hatred  of  the  Friar. 

3  Gherardi,  p.  163. 

*  News  of  the  Ascension  Day  outrage  had  reached  Rome 
shortly  before  this,  —  with  the  usual  calumnies,  Savonarola  the 
victim,  being  represented  as  the  aggressor.  See  foot-note  to  his 
letter  of  May  8,  page  70. 

6  Dated  May  20. 

5 


66      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 

city,  both  on  account  of  his  high  reputation  for 
virtue  and  for  the  excellence  of  his  dogmatic  and 
moral  teaching.  No  one,  therefore,  can  be  sur- 
prised, if  we  deplore,  by  anticipation,  aught  that 
might  be  attempted  against  him  because  of  calum- 
nious charges,  for  we  do  not  wish  to  be  guilty  of  in- 
gratitude, and  we  must  bear  witness  to  the  truth."  ^ 

Alexander  was  so  prejudiced  or  so  completely 
deceived  concerning  Savonarola  that  when  the 
Florentine  representative  submitted  to  His  Holi- 
ness this  protest  of  the  Republic,  he  answered: 

The  Signory  are  unwilling  to  admit  that  the 
Friar  has  spoken  evil  against  me,  and  I  am  not 
surprised  at  this,  seeing  their  great  devotion  to 
him.  I  am  as  certain  of  the  contrary  as  I  am  of 
being  Pope.  I  have  many  witnesses  worthy  of 
belief,  and  it  ought  to  be  admitted  that  I  have  not 
acted  without  just  cause.  Besides,  I  await  his 
rej)ly  to  the  Brief,  and  shall  act  afterwards  as  God 
may  inspire  me."  ^ 

Here  we  must  retrace  our  steps  for  a  few  days, 
in  order  to  resume  the  connected  narrative,  admon- 
ishing the  reader  that  the  Brief  issued  on  May  13 
did  not  reach  Florence  till  June  18.  As  we  have 
already  stated,  anticipations  of  the  censure  were 
prevalent  in  Florence.  Painfully  conscious  as  he 
was  of  the  perilous  condition  of  the  times,  Savo- 
narola wished  to  prepare  the  people  for  the  worst, 
that  they  might  not  be  surprised  when  the  inevi- 
1  Gherardi,  pp.  103,  lG-4.  -  Id.,  p.  165. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS. 


67 


table  blow  should  be  struck.  He  rightly  estimated 
the  power  of  the  movement  against  him,  and  de- 
cided, on  ^lay  8,  five  days  before  the  date  of  the 
Brief  of  excommunication,  and  six  weeks  previ- 
ously to  its  publication  in  Florence,  to  address  the 
following  letter  to  his  disciples  and  friends  :  ^  — 

Brother  Jerome  Savonarola,  the  unworthj/  servant  of 
Jesus  Christ,  wishes  grace,  peace,  and  the  consola- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  all  the  elect  of  God  and 
children  of  the  Eternal  Father  : 

Dearly  Beloved,  —  Wishing  to  follow  the  example 
of  our  Saviour,  Who  often  yielded  to  the  mad  and  uncon- 
trolled fury  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  we  have 
ceased  to  preach,  and  we  shall  remain  silent  as  long  as 
it  will  please  God.  Knowing,  however,  that  the  demon, 
desiring  not  our  bodies  but  our  souls,  continues  to 
excite  such  persecutions,  that,  the  preaching  of  the  word 
of  God  having  ceased,^  he  will  stir  up  the  tepid, ^  who 
will  not  fail  to  witlidraw  souls  from  the  way  of  truth, 
and  fearing  that  you  may  have  allowed  yourselves  to 
be  deceived,  my  solicitude  for  your  salvation  urges  me 
to  do  by  letter  what  1  cannot  do  by  word  of  mouth. 
Perhaps  this  will  be  a  more  useful  method,  being  more 
general,  since  many  may  read  this  letter  who  could  not 
hear  the  word. 

1  beseech  you,  then,  dearly  beloved,  not  to  be  dis- 

^  Quetif  (pp.  170  seq.)  gives  the  orij^inal  Italian  text. 

2  By  prohibition  of  the  Signory.  Decree  is  given  (Latin)  by 
Villari,  ii,  xxxvi. 

^  Savonarohi  applied  this  word,  in  a  general  way,  to  the 
opponents  of  his  reform. 


68 


WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


turbed  by  the  tribulations  and  persecutions  which  I 
suffer  for  you.  Ratlier  rejoice  with  me,  because  our 
Saviour  has  made  us  worthy  to  suffer  for  His  love  and 
for  the  sake  of  truth,  for  you  well  know  that  I  have 
always  told  you  of  the  persecutions  we  should  have  to 
bear,  fighting  as  we  do  against  a  twofold  power,  a  two- 
fold wisdom,  and  a  twofold  malice.  For  these  reasons 
you  ought  to  be  confirmed  in  the  truth  preached  by  us, 
seeing  the  fulfilment,  successively,  of  the  things  which 
we  have  foretold.  Believe  me,  the  promised  grace  and 
consolation  will  yet  come. 

Kead  carefully  the  Scriptures  and  the  history  of  the 
Church,  and  you  will  find  that  she  has  ever  advanced 
under  persecution.  Hence,  though  small,  almost  as 
nothing  in  the  beginning,  the  Church  spread  during 
the  great  persecutions,  and  after  these  she  did  not 
increase,  but  at  times  diminished  in  numbers  and  in 
merit.  Now  it  seems  that  God  wishes  to  renew  and 
increase  the  Church,  and  therefore  we  must  not  wonder 
that  persecutions  begin  again,  through  which  she  will 
be  made  perfect  in  every  way.  Reflect,  moreover,  on 
the  goodness  and  benignity  of  our  Saviour,  Who  sweetly'- 
leads  us,  not  allowing  great  persecutions  to  come  on  us 
suddenly,  for  in  the  past  He  trained  us  to  such, 
gradually. 

At  first,  as  you  know,  wicked  men,  by  God's  permis- 
sion derided  me;  then  they  calumniated  me;  and 
finally,  being  convicted  of  falsehood  in  this,  they  strove 
by  many  crooked  ways  to  have  me  excommunicated  or 
interdicted  without  cause.  Unable  to  accomplish  this, 
they  laid  many  plots  against  me,  even  attempting  to 
assassinate  me.    And  yet  not  a  drop  of  blood  has  been 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


69 


shed,  because  our  Saviour,  Who  knows  my  weakness, 
does  not  allow  me  to  be  tempted  above  my  strength. 
But  as  the  tribulations  increase  by  degrees,  our  Lord 
increases  Faith  and  virtue,  strengthening  the  soul  to 
sustain  greater  trials.  In  this  way  persecutions  seem 
much  less  to  us,  because,  seeing  that  by  them  our  con- 
stancy is  not  overcome,  men  wonder,  and  begin  to  think 
that  we  could  not  suffer  such  trials  if  there  were  not  a 
better  world  beyond ;  and  they  are  even  moved  to  live 
well  and  to  follow  the  way  of  truth.  Thus  the  light 
will  be  spread  by  means  of  our  tribulations,  and  the 
hopes  of  the  enemies  of  the  Cross  of  Christ  will  be  dis- 
appointed. They  wish  to  extinguish  this  light,  but 
they  will  be  the  means  of  spreading  it,  for  as  a  fire 
burns  the  better  the  more  it  is  stirred  up,  so  these 
persecutions,  instead  of  diminishing  or  extinguishing 
the  work  begun  by  God,  will  rather  increase  it. 

Great  has  been  the  mercy  of  God  in  choosing  us  to  be 
sharers  in  this  light  of  Faith,  in  which  good  Christians 
are  never  wanting,  and  because  of  which  the  evil- 
minded  never  cease  to  strive  against  them,  following 
their  father,  the  demon.  These  wicked  men  manifest 
their  life  in  their  speech  and  works  when,  as  his  min- 
isters, with  so  much  audacity,  without  fear  or  shame, 
they  profane  the  very  house  of  God,  making  jest  and 
even  blasphemy  of  Christ's  words.  Instead  of  follow- 
ing in  the  wa}^  of  truth,  they  have  done  much  evil ;  the 
praises  of  Christ  they  have  turned  into  derision,  mak- 
ing odious  "the  word  of  God,  opposing  its  efficacy,  seek- 
ing vengeance  on  me,  or  my  death  (which  God  has  thus 
far  prevented),  so  that  they  may  more  freely  sin  and 
open  a  broader  path  to  vice  and  licentiousness.  In 


70      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


fine,  those  men  do  what  pagans  or  infidels  would  not  do, 
for  these  hold  their  temples  in  the  highest  esteem,  and 
severely  punish  insults  to  their  gods.^ 

Keflect  also  tliat  there  are  others  who,  while  not 
openly  joining  with  such  wicked  men,  encourage  them, 
urge  them  on  in  their  evil  way.  And  that  you  may  be 
certain  that  I  have  pointed  out  to  you  the  way  of  truth, 
observe  the  manner  of  life  of  our  followers  —  in  virtue, 
good  works;  and  so  we  are  persecuted  only  by  the 
synagogue  of  Satan.  For  we  live  in  a  perverse  genera- 
tion, with  those  among  whom  you  shine  as  stars  in  the 
darkness  of  the  night.    You  must,  therefore,  follow  our 

1  In  this  paragraph  Savonarola  particularly  refers  to  the 
dreadful  scene  on  the  Feast  of  the  Ascension,  when  the  pulpit 
of  the  Duomo  was  defiled  with  unmentionable  filth.  His 
libertine  enemies,  worse,  as  Nardi  writes,  than  Turks  or  Moors, 
dead  to  all  sense  of  public  decency,  as  well  as  of  reverence  for 
the  house  of  God,  had  also  draped  the  pulpit  with  the  skin 
of  an  ass,  and  into  the  desk  or  table  which  the  Friar,  under 
the  impulse  of  his  eloquence,  was  accustomed  to  strike  with 
his  hand,  the  cruel  and  cowardly  wretches  had  driven  spikes 
whose  points  were  inverted.  Around  the  pulpit  so  foully  dis- 
honored, an  armed  band  was  gathered,  ready  to  assassinate  him 
even  in  the  Cathedral !  But  he  did  not  falter.  He  came  brave- 
ly, and  his  loyal  friends,  men  of  decency  and  religion,  stood 
willing  to  defend  him  to  the  death.  The  vicious  Arrabhiati  had 
secured  control  of  the  Signon-,  and  on  the  pretext  of  this  dis- 
turbance which  their  followers  had  caused,  tliey  interdicted  all 
preaching.  Hence  Savonarola's  statement  in  tlie  beginning  of 
this  letter.  Scenes  of  great  disorder  naturally  followed  in  the 
city,  all  of  which  were  a  part  of  the  skilfully  laid  plot,  in  which 
the  infamous  Compar/nacci  were  the  able  co-operators  of  the 
more  cunning  but  not  less  wic'ked  Arrabhiati,  for  the  overthrow 
of  the  Friar.  For  the  shameful  incident  in  the  Cathedral,  we 
refer  our  readers  to  Yillari,  ii.  181 ;  Quetif ,  p.  150 ;  Nardi, 
p.  63 ;  and  we  ask  them  to  give  due  weight  to  these  sad  facts 
at  this  critical  juncture  of  Savonarola's  career. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


71 


Saviour,  His  disciples  and  martyrs,  who  did  not  turn 
back  on  account  of  persecutions,  but  on  the  contrary 
were  more  confirmed  in  patience,  in  joy,  by  the  truth, 
strengthening  others  in  like  manner  by  their  example. 

Be  not  ashamed  of  the  Cross  of  Christ ;  yea,  glorj^ 
in  it.  Instead  of  looking  for  happiness  here,  we  should 
be  glad  because  we  are  persecuted  by  the  agents  of  the 
devil.  Now  is  the  time  of  merit,  dearly  beloved,  be- 
cause the  judgment  of  God  always  begins  with  His 
elect,  whom  He  afflicts  and  tries  in  many  waj's,  as  gold 
is  tested  in  the  fire;  and  afterwards  judgment  will  come 
upon  the  reprobate.  Consider,  therefore,  that  if  God 
sends  so  many  tribulations  to  His  elect,  how  many 
more  He  will  send  to  the  reprobate,  because  His  judg- 
ment of  the  elect  is  tempered  with  mercy,  but  His 
judgment  of  the  reprobate  will  be  without  merc3^  And 
be  not  surprised  that  God  allows  so  much  evil  and 
impiety  to  pass  unpunished  at  present,  because  greater 
anger  could  not  be  shown  to  the  wicked  than  to  allow 
them  to  prosper  in  their  sins. 

Moreover,  know  that  God  uses  these  instruments  of 
Satan  to  exercise  the  good  in  the  virtue  of  patience. 
For  as  He  keeps  a  great  multitude  of  demons  in  the 
air,  and  not  in  hell,  in  order  to  exercise  His  elect  in 
the  faith,  so  also  He  allows  the  reprobate  to  live  and 
prosper,  for  the  same  reason.  His  severe  judgment 
Avill  come  later,  and  will  be  eternal. 

But  chastened  and  mortified  in  this  world,  as  were 
the  Saints  and  Martyrs,  whose  sufferings  we  have  not 
experienced,  we  shall  not  complain,  as  abandoned  by 
God;  rather  shall  our  tribulations  be  our  ground  of 
hope  for  a  great  reward  in  Heaven,  with  God,  as  His 


72      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


children  for  eternity.  Let  us  rejoice,  therefore,  in  the 
richness  of  our  expected  glory,  accounting  as  nothing 
the  sufferings  of  this  life. 

And  wonder  not,  in  an  age  so  blinded,  to  find  your- 
selves among  the  tepid.  Was  it  not  so  in  the  time. of 
the  Apostles,  who  lived  among  scribes  and  pharisees, 
pagans  and  idolaters?  Therefore  arm  5^ourselves 
against  their  malice,  by  faith,  patience,  prayer,  per- 
severing and  increasing  in  godly  living,  for  by  these 
wdll  our  enemies  be  confounded  and  overcome. 

Grieve  not  because  the  word  of  God  is  no  longer 
preached  to  you,  for  you  are  deprived  of  this  through 
the  Divine  permission,  that  you  may  realize  the  evil 
these  men  would  do  if  they  had  the  power.  They  have 
not  faith,  they  are  not  Christians,  for  they  have  inter- 
dicted our  Saviour's  command  to  preach  the  gospel. 
While  depriving  the  people  of  God's  word,  they  have 
opened  to  them  profane  places,  the  works  of  the  devil. 
However,  pray  that  God  may  be  pleased  to  renew  the 
preaching  of  His  word,  for  if  the  wicked  wish  to  live  as 
pagans,  we  must  show  ourselves  as  Christians,  ready,  as 
were  the  Apostles  when  forbidden  to  speak  the  Name  of 
Jesus,  to  declare  that  God  must  be  obej^ed  rather  than 
man,  and  that  every  tribulation  must  be  borne  for  the 
love  of  Him  Who  was  crucified  for  our  salvation. 

I  beseech  you,  then,  through  the  bowels  of  the  piety 
of  Jesus  Christ,  that  during  this  solemnity  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  you  will  prepare  for  the  most  holy  Communion, 
by  a  true  confession  of  your  sins  and  a  purification  of 
your  hearts,  so  that  the  Eternal  Father,  through  the 
merits  of  the  Passion  of  our  Saviour,  may  send  to  you 
the  gifts  of  His  Divine  Spirit.    Thus  you  will  be 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


73 


enabled  to  suffer,  not  only  patiently  but  with  joy,  even 
greater  tribulations,  meriting  the  crown  of  everlasting 
life.  Be  cheerful,  humble,  chaste,  sincere,  upright, 
charitable,  constant  in  prayer,  free  from  all  anger  or 
hatred,  defending  the  truth  and  showing  the  folly  of 
men  who  are  led  by  sin  to  their  ruin. 

And  during  this  most  sweet  solemnity  prepare  your 
hearts  for  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  invoking  Him 
with  faith,  hope,  and  loving  desire,  so  that  by  the  gift 
of  understanding  He  will  teach  you  to  know  the  in- 
visible and  eternal  things;  by  the  gift  of  knowledge 
He  will  bring  you  to  despise  earthly  things  which  pass 
in  a  moment;  by  the  gift  of  counsel  He  will  direct  you 
in  the  way  of  truth  and  justice;  by  the  gift  of  piety 
He  will  make  you  pious  and  gentle  towards  your 
neighbor,  especially  towards  the  miserable  and  even 
more  so  towards  sinners  (comj^assionating  their 
blindness,  and  exciting  yourselves  to  pray  more  fer- 
vently for  your  enemies) ;  by  the  gift  of  fortitude  that 
He  will  make  you  strong  to  bear  with  joy,  for  His 
love  and  for  the  truth,  all  tribulations;  and  by  the 
gift  of  fear  that  He  will  preserve  you  in  the  right  way, 
in  all  humility  and  subjection,  in  true  jo}^,  neither 
desiring  nor  fearing  aught  in  this  world,  knowing  that 
it  shall  pass  quicklj^  away. 

And  may  you  so  continue  that  you  will  merit  to 
rejoice  with  God  our  Saviour,  and  with  the  blessed, 
possessing  that  which  eye  hath  not  seen  nor  hath  it 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive,  the  glory  that 
God  has  promised  to  those  who  love  Him.  The  grace 
of  the  Father,  the  peace  of  the  Son  and  the  consolation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  be  with  you  all  forever  !  Amen. 


74      ir.l.S  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


Up  to  May  22,  no  news  had  come  to  Florence  of 
the  issue  of  the  Brief  of  excommunication.  Igno- 
rant therefore  of  the  turn  affairs  had  taken,  Savo- 
narola wrote  on  that  day  the  following  touching 
letter :  ^  — 

Most  Holy  Father,  — I  prostrate  myself  at  the 
feet  of  your  Holiness.  AVhy  is  my  Lord  angry  with 
his  servant,  or  what  is  the  wrong  that  I  have  done?  If 
the  sons  of  iniquity  have  spoken  falsely  of  me,  why 
does  not  my  Lord  inquire  of  his  servant,  and  hear  his 
account  hefore  helieving  them?  It  is  a  difficult  thing 
to  persuade  a  mind  already  prejudiced. 

^'Many  dogs  have  encompassed  me;  the  assembly  of 
the  wicked  has  enclosed  me,  and  they  say :  *  Behold,  his 
God  cannot  help  him  or  save  him.'  "  Your  Holiness 
holds  the  place  of  God  on  earth,  and  they  accuse  me  of 
treason  towards  you,  saj^ing  that  I  do  not  cease  to 
reproach  you  and  to  assail  you ;  and  in  many  ways  they 
distort  and  sacrilegiously  pervert  the  meaning  of  my 
words. 

The  same  thing  was  done  two  years  ago,  hut  thou- 
sands who  heard  me  can  bear  witness  to  my  innocence  as 
well  as  to  my  own  words,  faithfully  reported  at  the  time, 
and  printed  and  scattered  abroad.  Let  these  be  brought 
forward,  read,  and  examined,  that  it  may  be  seen  if  in 
them  there  is  anything  offensive  to  your  Holiness,  as  has 
been  so  often  falsely  asserted.    Is  it  likely  that  I  would 

1  Quetif  (p.  125)  gives  the  Latin  text.  Owing  to  a  confusion 
of  dates  and  a  groundless  presumption  tliat  the  Brief  of  May 
13  had  readied  Florence  a  few  days  after  its  issue,  this  letter 
of  Savonarola  has  been  erroneously  regarded  as  an  answer  to 
the  Pope. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS.  75 


say  one  tiling  and  write  another,  and  so  lay  myself 
open  to  the  charge  of  flagrant  contradiction?  What 
could  be  the  motive  or  benefit  of  such  a  line  of  conduct? 
It  would  be  folly.  I  only  wonder  that  your  Holiness 
does  not  see  tlieir  wickedness  and  madness.  As  for  the 
great  and  renowned  preacher,^  he  must  have  little  shame 
or  honesty  to  accuse  an  innocent  man  of  the  very  crime 
of  which  he  is  guilty.  His  public  speeches  cannot  be 
denied.  Numerous  witnesses  have  heard  him  furi- 
ously attacking  your  Holiness,  and  lest  I  might  be 
accused  of  falsehood,  I  could,  if  necessary,  produce 
legal  proof.  But  I  have  not  forgotten  that  his  insolence 
has  already  -been  silenced  and  condemned,  since  it  is 
not  lawful  to  calumniate  any  one,  no  matter  how  lowly 
he  may  be,  and  much  less  one  who  is  the  E,uler  and 
Pastor  of  all.  Who  is  so  senseless  as  to  be  ignorant  of 
this? 

Thanks  to  God,  I  am  not  so  abandoned,  so  utterly 
forgetful  of  my  duty.  To  the  teaching  of  the  Eoman 
Church  I  have  ever  been  faithful ;  to  her  correction  I 
have  ever  submitted  myself,  and  shall  again  submit 
myself  whenever  I  may  be  summoned.  And  this  is 
what  I  have  always  taught,  and  shall  continue  to  teach 
with  all  my  strength,  at  the  same  time  doing  my  best 
to  rouse  men  to  sorrow  for  sin  and  to  an  amendment  of 
life  by  awakening  their  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
a  faith  almost  extinct  in  many  hearts.  The  work 
which  I  hope  soon  to  issue,  on  "  The  Triumph  of  the 
Cross  "  will  be  a  witness  to  my  faith.  From  it  will  be 
seen  whether  I  teach  heresy,  or  in  any  way  am  opposed 
to  the  Catholic  Church,  which  God  forbid! 

1  Mariano  of  Gennezzano,  already  mentioned,  page  63. 


76      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


Will  your  Holiness,  therefore,  turn  a  deaf  ear  to 
those  envious  and  lying  tongues,  and  believe  only  what 
has  been  examined  and  proved,  since  many  of  their 
falsehoods  have  already  been  detected  and  exposed? 
But  if  all  human  help  fail  me,  and  the  wickedness  of 
these  impious  men  gain  the  day,  I  shall  still  hope  in 
God,  and  by  His  help  shall  manifest  their  evil  to  the 
world,  so  that  at  the  last  moment  they  may,  perhaps, 
repent  of  their  bad  purposes.  I  most  humbly  commend 
myself  to  your  Holiness. 

Your  Holiness's  humble  son  and  servant. 

When  this  letter  arrived  in  Rome,  though  the 
Brief  of  excommunication  had  been  despatched, 
the  Pope  was  in  a  relenting  mood,  even  favorably 
disposed  towards  the  Friar,  whose  cause  the  Car- 
dinals of  Naples  and  Perugia  and  the  Bishop  of 
Capaccio  had  pleaded  earnestly  and  with  seeming 
success.  Savonarola's  appeal  to  the  Pope  pro- 
duced an  excellent  impression. ^  To  the  Cardinal 
of  Naples,  Protector  of  the  Dominican  Order, 
Alexander  said  that  he  regretted  having  sent  the 
Brief  by  an  avowed  enemy  of  the  Friar ;  and  he 
would  probably  have  withdrawn  it,  had  he  not 
supposed  that  it  was  already  published.  ■ 

1  Gherardi,  pp.  167,  168.  On  May  23  and  24  respectively 
Sa^vonarola  also  wrote  to  the  Chancellor  of  the  Duke  of 
Ferrara,  and  to  Madame  Angiola  Sforza  d'  Estc,  in  a  spirit  of 
tender  and  reverent  piety  betokening  the  man  of  God  over 
wliom  hung  the  shadow  of  the  cross.  Gherardi  (pp  279-281, 
285,  286)  gives  the  Italian  text.  Father  Bayonne  (p.  106)  states 
that  Savonarola  also  wrote  at  this  time  to  the  Cardinal  of 
Perugia ;  but  Father  Ferret ti  informs  me  that  he  has  no  knowl- 
edge of  such  a  communication. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS. 


77 


Having  presented  the  important  facts  bearing 
on  the  subject,  we  now  give  the  text  of  the  Brief, 
on  the  correct  understanding  of  which  the  proper 
solution  of  the  Priors  case  depends  :  ^  — 

Alexander  the  Sixth,  Pope. 
Beloved  Soxs. — Health  and  Apostolic  blessing! 
From  many  men,  both  lay  and  ecclesiastic,  all  learned 
and  worthy  of  credence,  and  at  various  times,  we  have 
heard  that  a  certain  Friar  Jerome  Savonarola,  from 
Ferrara,  of  the  Order  of  Preachers,  and  at  present,  as 
it  is  said.  Vicar  of  St.  Mark's,  Florence,  has  sown  cer- 
tain pernicious  doctrine  in  that  city,  to  the  scandal, 
loss,  and  destruction  of  unsuspecting  souls  recleemed 
by  the  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ  ;  and  this,  assuredly, 
has  occasioned  us  displeasure  of  soul.  But,  hoping 
that  when  his  error  was  made  known  to  him,  he  would 
soon  withdraw  from  the  dangerous  path,  and  return, 
in  true  simplicity  of  heart  and  with  becoming  humility 
and  obedience,  to  Christ  and  His  Hol}^  Church,  we 
commanded  the  said  Friar  Jerome,  by  a  Brief,  and  in 
virtue  of  holy  obedience,  to  come  to  us  and  justify 
himself  regarding  certain  errors  alleged  against  him. 
We  also  commanded  him  entirely  to  suspend  his 
preaching,  but  he  would  not  obey.  However,  moved 
by  kind  consideration  for  him,  and  treating  him  more 
gently  than,  perhaps,  the  affair  demanded,  we  accepted 
some  excuses  which  he  offered;  ^  we  also  bore  with  his 
disobedience  in  continuing  to  preach,  contrary  to  our 

1  The  Brief  was  addressed  to  the  Benedictines,  Franciscans, 
and  Servites  of  Florence.  Villari  (II,  xxxix)  gives  the  Latin 
text,  as  does  Perrens,  pp.  3G2-3G4. 

2  These  words  prove  that  the  Friar  was  not  disobedient. 


78      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED  f 


aforesaid  prohibition,  hoping  that  our  clemency  would 
turn  him  to  the  right  path  of  obedience.-^ 

But  it  happened  otherwise,  for  he  persisted  in  his 
obstinacy.  Wherefore,  by  another  Brief  (dated  Novem- 
ber 7,  1496,  the  fifth  year  of  our  pontificate),  we  or- 
dered him,  in  virtue  of  holy  obedience  and  under  penalty 
of  excommunication  latce  sententice,  to  be  incurred 
ipso  facto,  to  obey  in  uniting  the  Convent  of  St.  IVIark, 
Florence,  to  a  certain  new  Congregation  called  the 
Tusco-Roman  Province,  by  us  lately  formed  and  insti- 
tuted.^ This  he  in  no  way  performed;  nor  was  he 
willing,  in  any  manner,  to  obe}^  our  letter,  disregard- 
ing the  ecclesiastical  censure  which  he  thus  incurred 
by  this  very  fact,  and  under  which,  with  damnable 
pertinacity,  he  still  lies.  Wishing,  therefore,  to  apply 
such  opportune  remedies  as  the  welfare  of  souls  re- 
quires, to  which  we  are  bound  by  our  pastoral  office, 
that  their  blood  may  not  be  demanded  of  us  at  the 
day  of  judgment,  we  command  you,  in  virtue  of  holy 
obedience  and  under  penalty  of  excommunication  lat(B 
sententicB,  that  in  your  churches,  on  feast  days,  when 
there  will  be  a  congregation  of  the  people,  you  will 

1  Consult  text  and  foot-note,  p.  16,  for  proof  of  the  Friar's 
good  faith  and  obedience. 

2  The  reader  is  here  referred  to  the  Brief  of  November  7, 
1496,  in  which  the  pontifical  mandate  forbade  any  one  to  impede 
or  hinder  liis  letter  regarding  tlie  Congregation  newly  formed,  of 
which  by  His  Holiness's  authority  and  precept  St,  Mark's  was  then 
constituted  a  portion.  Savonarola,  therefore,  had  received  no 
command  to  do  what  the  papal  power  had  already  accomplished. 
The  contradictions  evident  in  different  Briefs  concerning 
Savonarola  point  to  tlie  work  of  the  Friar's  enemies  unscrupu- 
lously deceiving  the  Pope,  and  varying  their  mode  of  attack,  as 
behooved  slanderers  who,  like  the  wretched  men  called  against 
our  Blessed  Lord,  could  not  agree  in  their  lies. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS.  79 


pronounce  and  declare  the  said  Friar  Jerome  excom- 
municate, and  that  all  shall  hold  and  consider  hira  as 
excommunicate  because  he  would  not  obey  our  Apos- 
tolic admonitions  and  precepts. 

Under  like  penalty  of  excommunication  you  will 
warn  all,  of  both  sexes,  clerics  or  lait}^,  priests  or 
religious,  of  whatever  order  or  grade  or  ecclesiastical 
dignity,  that  they  must  entirely  avoid  the  said  Friar 
Jerome  as  one  excommunicate  and  suspected  of  heresj^; 
nor  may  they  hold  speech  or  converse  with  him;  nor 
may  they  listen  to  his  preaching  which  we  have  inter- 
dicted, or  in  any  other  manner  hear  him;  nor  may  they 
assist  him  or  show  him  any  kind  of  favor,  or  go  to  places 
where  he  may  be  or  to  the  convent  in  which  he  lives. 

We  command  you  also,  and  each  one  individually,  to 
obey  and  assist  our  beloved  son  and  intimate  commis- 
sary, John  Victor  de  Camerino,  Professor  of  Theology, 
in  what  we  have  commissioned  and  ordered  him  to  do 
against  the  said  Friar  Jerome,  in  so  far  as  he  may 
call  upon  you. 

Given,  etc.,  May  13,  1497. 

The  commissary,  an  avowed  enemy  ^  of  the  Friar, 
undertook  to  carry  the  important  document  to 
Florence.  Mindful,  however,  of  his  experience  in 
that  city,  and  not  aware  that  the  Arrahhiati  had 
secured  a  majority  in  the  Signory,  he  prudently 
stopped  at  Siena,  whence  on  June  16  he  wrote  to 
Florence,  asking  the  Republic's  safe-conduct,  to 
enable  him  to  fulfil  the  Sovereisrn  Pontiff's  com- 
mission.    Before  the  receipt  of  an  answer,  he  de- 

1  Nardi,  p.  64. 


80      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


cided  on  a  different  line  of  action.  He  wrote  to 
the  Florentine  clergy,  ordering  them  to  publish  the 
Brief  without  delay.^ 

Through  respect  for  the  canonical  conditions 
which  they  considered  unfulfilled,  some  of  the 
clergy  declined  to  obey  him.^  Others,  however, 
were  more  compliant,  and  the  terrible  tidings  were 
known  in  Florence,  on  June  18,  that  the  Friar  had 
been  declared  excommunicate.^  On  the  following 
day,  Savonarola  issued  an  address  to  the  faithful, 
and  at  once  withdrew  from  all  public  ecclesiastical 
functions  through  respect  for  the  Brief  and  for 
fear  of  scandal.  We  give  the  full  text  of  this 
letter  to  the  people  :  ^  — 

^'To  all  Christians  and  the  Elect  of  God,  Brother 
Jerome  Savonarola  addresses  himself  in  charity,  desir- 

1  Gherardi,  pp.  168,  169. 

2  The  Brief  was  signed  by  the  unfortunate  Archbishop  of 
Cosenza,  as  secretary.  Four  months  later,  on  the  denunciation 
of  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  he  was  con- 
fined to  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo,  as  a  forger  of  papal  Briefs. 
(Cappelli,  p.  96.)  How  far  he  may  have  sinned  in  the  case  of 
Savonarola,  it  is  not  necessarj'^  to  consider.  After  ten  months 
of  confinement,  death  released  him. 

3  Nardi  (p.  64)  tells  us  that  as  soon  as  the  tidings  of  the 
excommunication  had  spread,  all  kinds  of  villainous  and 
libellous  publications  began  to  appear  against  the  humiliated 
Prior ;  and  the  persecution  went  so  far  that  the  Franciscans, 
Augustinians,  and  other  friars  protested  to  the  Signory  that  if 
ani)  of  the  Dominicans  of  St.  Mark's,  or  of  St.  Dominic's,  Fiesole, 
took  part  in  the  procession  on  St.  John's  day,  they  would  decline 
to  walk.  Savonarola's  sons  showed  their  Christian  forbearance 
and  dread  of  scandal  by  remaining  in  their  convents  on  the  great 
feast  of  Florence's  Patron  ! 

*  Quetif  (p.  185  seq.)  gives  the  original  Italian. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


81 


ing  their  salvation,  their  joy  in  tribulation,  and  as  a 
servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  sent  by  Him  to  Florence  to 
announce  the  great  scourge  that  is  to  come  upon  Italy 
and  particularly  on  Eome,  and  that  will  fall,  more- 
over on  the  whole  world,  in  order  that  His  elect  may 
be  prepared  for  such  great  tribulations,  and  on  this 
account  may  realize  the  great  anger  of  God,  "Who  is 
pleased  in  this  wa}^  to  root  out  deplorable  abuses,  and 
to  purify  His  Church  and  the  world. 

May  His  goodness  be  always  blessed,  and  may  it  be 
granted  to  the  minister  of  this  truth,  for  which  I  will- 
ingly suffer  many  persecutions,  and  struggle  night  and 
day,  if  it  be  God's  will  that  the  knowledge  of  this  proph- 
ecy may  be  spread  among  all  Christian  people  and  in 
every  part  of  the  world,  so  that  no  one  may  have  any 
excuse  for  his  errors;  so  that  the  minds  of  those  who 
deign  to  read  of  this  renovation  in  the  Church,  as  well 
as  among  infidels,  may  be  disposed  to  receive  the  grace 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  which  is  the  form  of  this  renewal. 

Bad  men,  reserved  in  this  world  for  the  persecution 
of  the  just,  thinking  to  extinguish  this  truth  and  to 
destroy  the  prophecies,  only  fulfil  them.  So  the 
brothers  of  Josepli  believed  that  by  selling  him  to 
the  Madianites  he  could  not  become  their  lord,  and 
yet  this  very  selling  fulfilled  the  prophecy.  Herod, 
believing  that  he  was  destroying  the  prophecy  of  Christ 
by  slaughtering  the  infants,  fulfilled  the  prophecies 
of  Jeremiah  and  Osee.  The  Jews,  by  persecuting  and 
afterwards  crucifying  our  Lord,  fulfilled  all  the  prophe- 
cies written  of  Him.  The  persecutions  of  the  Apostles 
and  the  Martyrs  have  fulfilled  the  prophecies  of  both 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  New. 


6 


82      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED ? 


Thus  at  the  present  time  the  prophecies  announced 
by  me  are  being  accomplislied,  among  which  you  can 
see  expressly  fulfilled  that  of  the  excommunication, 
about  which,  many  years  before,  when  no  one  thought 
of  it,  I  preached  to  you  many  times,  saying  that  we 
had  to  combat  against  a  double  power  and  wisdom  and 
wickedness.  From  this  and  from  many  others  which 
with  your  own  eyes  you  already  see  fulfilled,  you  are 
able  to  believe  that  all  those  not  yet  fulfilled  will  be 
realized,  and  that  God  will  free  us  from  every  danger, 
and  will,  in  the  end,  give  us  a  glorious  victory. 

Eemember  that  I  have  told  you  how  a  great  benefit 
would  be  rewarded  by  great  ingratitude,  and  that  for 
such  great  labors  I  expected  nothing  from  Florence 
but  tribulation;  and  that  to  Rome  ^  and  the  other 
adversaries  of  the  truth,  nothing  was  wanting  to  fill 
the  sack  ^  but  the  persecution  of  the  servants  of  Christ. 
But  because  the  tepid  do  not  cease  to  go  about,  deceiv- 
ing simple  women,  by  whatever  means  will  serve  their 
own  ends,  continuing  to  speak  evil  and  to  persecute 
the  good  and  truth  itself,  I  desire  that  you  be  not 
thereby  deceived,  and  that  you  abandon  not  the  way  of 
truth. 

Remember  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Proj^hets,  the 
Apostles,  and  the  Saints.  Bear  in  mind  what  I  told 
j^ou  of  St.  John  Chrysostom,  St.  Jerome,  St.  Hilarj^, 
and  many  others  who  have  suffered  greater  persecu- 
tions than  have  fallen  to  our  lot.  Do  not  believe,  then, 
dearly  beloved,  that  such  excommunications  have  any 

1  By  "  Rome"  Savonarola  means  his  enemies  at  the  Roman 
Court,  and  tlie  prehites  Avhose  lives  were  scandalous. 
Their  cup  of  iniquity. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS. 


83 


weight,-  either  with  God  or  in  the  Church.  They  have 
been  fulminated  on  the  false  suggestions  of  men  who 
desire  to  do  evil,  to  act  against  God  and  the  truth. 
Nevertheless,  being  unable  to  allege  a  just  cause  for 
excommunicating  me,  they  have  laid  before  the  Pope 
falsehood  for  truth, ^  saying  that  I  am  disseminating 
pernicious  doctrine  and  heresy,  whereas  the  world  is 
witness  that  I  have  preached  the  true  doctrine  of  Jesus 
Christ,  in  the  Church  wliere  Christians  assemble,  and 
if  this  doctrine  preached  by  me  and  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
be,  as  our  enemies  have  suggested,  perverse,  let  them 
hold  what  they  please.  But  for  this  teaching,  I  am 
willing  to  die. 

And  because  they  accuse  me  of  disobedience,  know 
ye  that  I  have  never  been  disobedient  to  the  Holy 
Roman  Church,  nor  to  the  Pope,  nor  to  any  of  my 
superiors,  up  to  this  present  hour;  and  this  I  say,  not 
in  self-praise,  but  for  the  sake  of  truth.  And  for  truth 
also  I  have  resolved  to  speak  in  this  letter;  and  I  am 
satisfied,  if  I  have  not  said  the  truth,  that  it  may  be 
against  me  on  the  day  of  judgment  before  the  tribunal 
of  Jesus  Christ.  It  seems  to  some  that  when  a  man 
does  not  obey  in  those  things  which  are  expressly 
against  God,  he  is  disobedient,  because  they  find  it  hard 
to  believe  tliat  we  are  not  bound  to  obey  our  superiors 
in  everj'thing,  but  only  in  so  far  as  they  represent  God; 
for  when  superiors  command  anything  against  God, 
they  do  not,  in  that,  represent  Him.  And  this  case 
having  arisen,  I  have  not  felt  obliged  to  ohey,  knowing- 

1  In  the  second  sermon  on  Exodus,  Savonarola  frequently 
refers  to  the  deception  of  the  Pope  by  enemies  who  dishonored 
the  Holy  See.  On  these  wicked  men  the  Friar  threw  the  weight 
of  blame,  and  in  this  lie  was  consistent  throughout. 


84      WAS  SAVOXAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


that  neither  God  nor  the  Church  would  ^yish  me  to 
obey  against  their  commands.-^  I  have  frequently  dis- 
cussed this  matter  in  my  sermons,  knowing  that  it 
would  happen,  so  that  you  might  be  ready  with  an 
answer. 

Eead  the  first  sermon  for  Lent,  1495,  and  those  for 
IMonday  and  Wednesday  after  the  fourth  Sunday,  and 
you  will  find  the  solution  of  this  question.  Our  adver- 
saries have  objected  that  I  have  been  unwilling  to 
consent  to  the  union  of  St.  Mark's  with  the  rest  of 
Tuscany,  and  I  have  often  answered  that  those  who 
persuaded  the  Pope  to  this  union  did  not  act  from  zeal 
for  religion,  but  only  to  persecute  me,  and  by  this 
means  to  find  an  opportunity  of  proceeding  against 
me,  believing  that  I  would  not  consent  to  such  an 
improper  move.  Their  own  consciences  told  them  that, 
this  union  being  pernicious,  I  could  not  approve  it. 

I  gave  them  twelve  reasons  which  satisfy  and  con- 
vince my  mind,  which  they  have  never  been  able  to 
answer,  demonstrating  that  this  union  is  contrary  to 
the  honor  of  God  and  to  the  salvation  of  souls.  I  told 
them  that  they  asked  of  me  what  was  not  in  my  power, 
because  the  consent  of  all  our  brethren  was  required,'^ 

1  It  is  necessary  to  explain  these  words  of  the  Friar.  He  is 
referring  to  the  union  of  St  Mark's  with  the  new  Congrega- 
tion, in  which,  strictly  speaking,  there  was  no  question  of 
ohedience.  He  refuses  to  surrender  his  own  just  views  sanc- 
tioned b}^  canon  law  and  theology.  And  this  stand  he  too 
freely  designates  as  one  of  refusal  to  obey.  His  words  must 
not  be  taken  literally.  See  his  letter  to  the  Pope,  September 
29,  1495.  The  fact  of  his  actual  obedience  we  have  already 
recorded.  Compare  also  our  foot-note  to  the  Brief  of  May 
13,  1497,  page  78. 

2  Not  for  the  union,  as  a  thing  quite  within  the  power  of  the 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS. 


85 


and  all '  of  them  refused,  regarding  the  affair  as  per- 
nicious. Besides,  it  seemed  proper  to  call  the  fathers 
of  our  3'oung  men  who  had  come  to  live  a  regular  life 
under  our  protection,  so  that  they,  as  well  as  the  city, 
having  learned  the  conditions  of  the  union,  could  never 
complain  that  we  had  deceived  their  children,  who 
certainly  would  have  been  deceived  by  me  had  I 
approved  of  this  union,  for  they  might  have  been  scat- 
tered among  those  tepid  friars  whom  we  have  proved 
to  be  unworthy.  And  rather  than  have  this  happen, 
I  would  prefer  that  they  had  never  left  their  fathers' 
houses.  I  also  answered  that,  being  a  stranger  here, 
if  the  community  wished  to  consent  I  could  not  hinder 
them,  nor  unwilling  could  I  force  them.  So  the  mat- 
ter was  in  their  hands,  and,  as  they  wrote  to  the  Pope, 
rather  than  consent  they  would  suffer  excommunica- 
tion, imprisonment,  martyrdom. 

Since,  therefore,  such  is  the  case,  why  is  disobe- 
dience imputed  to  me?  Is  it  not  because  our  adver- 
saries seek  one  man  whom  they  hate  because  of  the 
truth  ?  So  you  see,  beloved,  how  great  is  their  audac- 
ity, for  they  do  not  scruple  to  state  manifest  falsehoods 
to  the  Pope.  Therefore  such  an  excommunication  is 
of  no  avail,  nor  is  it  according  to  the  intention  of  Holy 
Church.  And  if  they  say  that  the  sentence  of  the 
Pastor,  whether  just  or  unjust,  must  be  feared,  you 
have  the  answer  to  this  in  the  sermon  for  the  above- 
mentioned  ^yednesday. 

Pope,  and  an  accomplished  fact,  not  at  all  depending  on  such 
consent  for  validity  or  legality,  but  for  passing  from  a  life  of 
strict  regularity  to  one  of  laxity,  which  they  assumed  would 
be  the  result  of  the  change. 


86      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUSICATED? 


But  I  beseech  you  to  pray  to  God  to  give  us  more 
than  reasons,^  since  these  men  are  so  malicious  that 
with  shameful  contradiction  of  the  truth  and  of  reason 
itself,  they  intend  to  live  riotously.  But  if  our  reasons 
are  rejected,  and  if  these  men  wish  to  proceed  further, 
I  shall  take  care  to  make  the  truth  heard  b}^  the  whole 
world,  in  such  a  way  that  no  one  will  be  able  to  deny 
it;  because  God,  in  His  own  good  time,  for  the  con- 
fusion of  Christians  who  do  not  wish  to  use  their 
reason,  will  ordain  that  irrational  creatures  will  do 
reverence  to  the  truth,  to  which  rational  creatures  are 
averse.  Pray  that  it  may  be  so  soon.  May  the  grace 
of  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you.  Amen. 

A  few  days  after  the  assassination  of  the  Duke 
of  Gandia  (June  14),  and  probably  on  the  19th,2 
the  Pope  called  a  consistory,  to  which  he  also  sum- 
moned the  ambassadors  of  the  States  forming  the 
Italian  League.  His  sorrow  for  the  murder  of  the 
young  Duk^  was  great.  Under  its  influence  he 
announced  a  complete  reform  of  the  Church  in  its 
head  and  members,  and  having,  as  we  have  already 
stated,  been  favorably  impressed  by  Savonarola's 
letter  of  May  22,  he  directed  a  secretary  to  read 
it  to  the  assembled  cardinals  and  envoys,  to  wdiom 
he  warmly  commended  it.  The  stunning  blow  of 
his  son's  death  had  so  bruised  his  heart  that  he 
felt  favorably  disposed  towards  the  Friar,  whose 
cause  he  then  confided  to  the  commission,  com- 

1  He  means  by  this  that  fjrace-  may  move  their  licarts,  for 
their  minds  have  been  sufficiently  enlightened, 

2  Bayonne,  p.  109. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


87 


posed  of  six  cardinals,  wliicli  lie  had  appointed  for 
the  work  of  reform.  He  also  expressed  annoy- 
ance at  the  promulgation  of  the  excommunication 
under  existing  conditions.  The  Florentine  envoy, 
Bracci,  wrote  two  days  previously  that  the  Pope 
seemed  even  willing  to  revoke  the  Brief,  but  that 
private  letters  sent  from  Florence  and  against  the 
Friar,  had  been  received  and  had  influenced  Alex- 
ander. Nevertheless  Bracci  added  that,  to  the  Car- 
dinal of  Perugia,  Alexander  had  said  that  the 
publication  of  the  Brief,  at  that  time,  was  entirely 
against  his  intention.^  Other  letters  of  Bracci  and 
of  Becchi,  written  at  this  time,  prove  that  the  vin- 
dictiveness  of  Mariano  and  of  certain  cardinals, 
as  well  as  the  persistent  calumny  of  the  Arrabbiati, 
kept  the  Pope  in  a  state  of  constant  irritation. 
The  League  and  the  restoration  of  Pisa  to  Flor- 
ence, are  frequently  mentioned  as  the  great  diffi- 
culties. Alexander  felt  that  in  these  things  Sa- 
vonarola had  thwarted  his  polic}^^ 

These  political  embarrassments,  coupled  with  the 
hostility  of  the  Friar's  opponents,  soon  modified 
the  Pope's  feelings.  The  plotters  denounced  to 
Alexander,  as  an  act  of  rebellion,  Savonarola's 
letter  of  June  19,  and  the  "Apology"  for  his  atti- 
tude on  the  question  of  the  new  province,  which 
he  had  published  about  this  time.  The  exact  date 
is  not  determined,  but  we  know  from  the  text  of 

1  Bayonne,  p.  113 ;  Gherardi,  li.,  pp.  171,  172. 

2  Ibid. 


88      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATEDf 


his  preface  and  from  Nardi  ^  that  it  was  subsequent 
to  the  promulgation  of  the  Binef  of  Excommunication?' 
Indeed,  the  categorical  answers  with  which,  in  the 
"  Apology  "  itself,  the  counts  in  the  Brief  of  ]\Iay 
13  are  met,  clearly  prove  that  the  papal  letter 
had  appeared  first.  This  fact  is  important.  Had 
Savonarola  published  the  "Apology"  immediately 
after  the  reception  of  the  Pope's  letter  of  Novem- 
ber 7,  1496,  proclaiming  the  erection  of  the  new 
province,  or  before  the  receipt  of  the  Brief  of  May 
13,  1497,  it  might  have  subjected  him  to  the  cen- 
sure announced  by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff.  Issued 
after  the  reception  in  Florence  of  the  papal  letter  de- 
claring him  excommunicate^  Savonarola's  "  Apol- 
ogy" cannot  be  considered  as  the  occasion  of  a 
censure  already  promulgated.  By  assigning  this 
"  Apology  "  to  the  preceding  year,  certain  writers 
have  made  out,  to  their  seeming  satisfaction,  a 
clear  case  against  the  Friar.  Had  Alexander,  after 
the  publication  of  the  "  Apology  "  of  Savonarola, 
issued  a  Brief  declaring  that  because  of  this  "  Apol- 
ogy," he  had  fallen  under  the  censure,  there  would 
probably  be  no  room  for  controvers}^  But  as  dates 
and  facts  are ;  as  the  Pope  issued  no  Brief  of  ex- 
communication against  Savonarola  save  that  of 
May  13,  1497,  and  as  this  Brief  was  issued  before 
the  appearance  of  the  Friar's  "  Apology,"  it  is  evi- 

1  Page  69. 

2  For  further  particulars,  see  Luotto,  p.  513;  and  Quarto 
Centenario,  p.  227. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


89 


dent  that,  so  far  as  the  "  Apology "  is  concerned, 
the  aspect  of  the  Friar's  case  remains  unchanged. 
We  give  his  introduction  or  preface  without  ab- 
breviation ;  the  substance  of  the  "  Apology "  will 
duly  follow :  ^  — 

'  For  if  my  enemy  had  reviled  me,  I  would  verily 
have  borne  with  it.'  ^  But  now  when  the  word  is  in 
contempt  of  religion  and  to  the  injury  of  souls,  because 
of  the  vilification  of  our  ministry,  it  would  be  wrong 
for  us  to  remain  silent.  I  am  obliged  to  refute  openly 
the  calumnies  of  our  adversaries,  whose  malignity  has 
gone  so  far  that  not  only  have  they  endeavored  to  turn 
the  Sovereign  Pontiff  against  us,  but  in  the  streets  and 
lanes  they  gossip  about  us  and  pervert  the  minds  of 
simple  folk. 

^'I  hope,  for  the  dignity  and  justice  of  the  Apostolic 
See,  that  the  Pope,  on  learning  the  truth,  will  take  our 
side;  now  nothing  remains  but  to  declare  our  innocence, 
which  is  known  to  God  and  to  this  entire  city ;  for 
necessity  compels  us  to  oppose  our  loud  and  insulting 
opponents. 

Excessive  tolerance,  I  fear,  would  breed  great  scan- 
dal, and  I  should  be  accused  on  the  day  of  judgment 
of  neglecting  truth  and  of  endangering  the  public  wel- 
fare. Invoking,  therefore,  as  witnesses,  God  and  the 
blessed  in  Heaven,  I  shall  not  cease  to  proclaim  the 
truth,  nor  for  this  can  any  one  be  displeased  with  me, 
unless  he  wishes  openly  to  profess  himself  its  enemy. 

1  Quetif  (pp.  74-90)  gives  the  full  Latin  text.  The  Introduc- 
tion contains  three  pages  ;  tlie  Apology,  twenty-two.  We  sum- 
marize it  without  substantial  change. 

2  Psalm  liv.,  12. 


90      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED^ 


Three  points  are  alleged  against  us  by  our  detrac- 
tors: first,  that  I  taught  perverse  dogma;  secondly, 
that  having  been  summoned  to  Eome,  to  justify  myself 
(ad  me  2^urgandum),  I  refused  to  go;  thirdly,  that  I 
would  not  obey  the  command  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff 
in  the  matter  of  the  union  of  our  Congregation  with 
the  newly  formed  Tuscan  Congregation.^ 

^^Two  of  these  points  refer  to  me  alone,  but  they 
have  so  often  been  made  clear,  as  all  know,  that  it  is 
not  well  to  dwell  on  them  at  length.  The  third,  as  will 
be  seen,  does  not  concern  me  alone.  As  to  the  first, — 
teaching  perverse  dogma, —  the  publications  of  my  dis- 
courses reported  by  a  rapid  and  faithful  writer,  will 
bear  witness  that  it  is  false.  And  in  all  that  I  have 
thus  far  published,  which  I  have  alwaj's  submitted  to 
the  correction  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  no  error  has 
been  found  ;  and  this  will  also  be  evident  in  my  '  Tri- 
umph of  the  Cros^,'  which  the  booksellers  will  soon 
bring  out.  God  forbid  that  our  Order,  which  has  ever 
been  known  as  the  vigorous  opponent  of  error  and 
heresj'-,  should  be  stained  b}'-  false  teaching.^ 

Touching  the  summons  to  Kome,  the  Pope's  letter 
will  prove  that  I  was  not  called*  ^  ad  me  purgandum? 
The  Sovereign  Pontiff  graciously  invited  me  to  an 
agreeable  conference;  and  nothing  could  or  would  have 
been  more  acceptable  to  me  had  I  been  able  to  go.  But 
the  conspiracies  of  those  to  whom  the  truth  is  hateful, 

1  These  are  the  particular  charges  specified  in  the  Brief  of 
excommunication.  In  no  previous  document  are  they  found  in 
tliis  precise  form,  and  thus  it  is  clear  that  Savonarola's  letter  is 
an  answer  to  these  points. 

2  The  Church  has  vindicated  the  Friar  on  this  point,  and  be- 
yond cavil,  after  a  thorough  examination  of  his  writings. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


91 


powerful  enemies,  endangered  my  life.  Scarcely  among 
the  people  of  the  city  can  I  move  freely,  or  even  to  the 
churches,  because  of  the  plots  and  snares  against  me. 
The  merest  tyro  in  theology  knows  that  one  is  not 
obliged  to  go  where  his  life  will  be  in  jeopardy. 

''The  difficulty  centres  about  the  third  charge,  which, 
as  I  said,  does  not  concern  me  alone,  because  it  is  not  a 
matter  left  to  my  judgment,  but  to  that  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  friars,  of  whom  many  belong  to  the  nobilit}^ 
and  are  men  venerable  for  their  piety,  prudence,  and 
learning,  among  whom  I  am  a  stranger,  and  not  their 
master,  but  their  servant  in  humble  charity. 

''They  have  appealed  to  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  unani- 
mously declaring  by  letter  that  they  will  suffer  the 
extreme  penalty  rather  than  consent  to  the  union,  which 
is  repugnant  to  their  profession.^ 

"From  this  honest  and  holy  design  I  know  not  how 
to  dissuade  them,  nor  could  I.  The  reasons  which  they 
give  are  here  presented,  though  I  know  that  this  will 
be  displeasing  to  some  religious.  But  they  have  only 
themselves  to  blame.  They  have  forced  this  difficulty 
on  us,  who  have  been  reluctant  to  meet  it.  Hitherto  we 
have  kept  silent,  concealing,  so  far  as  we  could,  the  state 
of  affairs.  But  now,  as  they  have  persisted,  it  would  be 
to  the  prejudice  of  truth  if  we  held  our  peace. 

"They  have  disturbed  our  quiet,  and  in  this  they 
have  not  spared  God  and  Religion.  We,  therefore, 
who  struggle  for  the  honor  of  Divine  worship  and  for 
justice,  owe  them  no  further  consideration.  Hear  then 
the  reasons  of  our  brethren.  .  .  . 

It  is  immaterial  to  our  purpose  to  j)resent  the 
long  and  detailed  statement  of  the  community  of 

1  The  text  of  their  letter  has  not  been  preserved. 


92      ir.l-S  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


St.  Mark's.  We  give  rather  its  substance,  em- 
bodying as  an  introduction  a  summary  of  the  argu- 
ments against  St.  Mark's  position  ;  — 

(ft)  The  relaxed  and  irregular  friars  wish,  for 
their  own  reform,  to  be  united  to  St. 
Mark's. 

(&)  This  reform  is  in  itself  a  good  to  be  desired. 

(c)  It  cannot  injure  St.  Mark's. 

(d)  All  Tuscany  ought  to  be  united  in  one  prov- 

ince. 

(e)  We  ought  to  obey  our  superiors. 

Against  these  points  the  arguments  of  the 
"  Apology  "  are  that  if  a  little  leaven  ferments  the 
whole  mass,^  the  lax  Tuscans,  who,  according  to 
their  own  admission,  are  a  considerable  leaven, 
would  simply  corrupt  St.  Mark's,  thus  effecting, 
not  a  reformation,  but  a  deformation,  certainly  a 
thing  neither  good  nor  reasonable.^    Then  follows 

1  1  Corinthians  v.  6 ;  Galatians  v.  9.  Savonarola  is  also  sus- 
tained in  his  argument  by  the  words  of  our  Blessed  Lord  :  "  No- 
body putteth  a  piece  of  new  cloth  into  an  old  garment,  for  it 
taketh  away  the  fulness  thereof  from  the  garment,  and  there  is 
made  a  greater  rent.  Neither  do  they  put  new  wine  into  old 
bottles.  Otherwise  the  bottles  break,  and  the  wine  runneth  out 
and  the  bottles  perish.  But  new  wine  they  put  into  new 
bottles,  and  both  are  preserved."    (St.  Matthew  ix.  16,  17.) 

^  We  supplement  this  moderate  statement  regarding  the 
scandalous  friars  by  a  few  facts,  on  which  probably  Savonarola 
did  not  consider  it  necessary  to  dwell.  Many  of  these  friars  so 
stubbornly  resisted  what  they  thought  might  be  a  reformation 
that  some  of  them  were  threatened  with  censure,  with  punish- 
ment by  the  secular  arm,  and  several  priors  of  these  lax  com- 
munities were  summoned  to  Rome  by  the  Cardinal  Protector  of 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


93 


a  scholastic  disquisition  as  to  the  meaning  of  re- 
form, and  detailed  arguments  are  vigorously  set 
forth  to  show  that  the  new  union  would  not  be 
good.  The  other  points,  except  the  last,  the  "  Apol- 
ogy" summarily  dismisses. 

On 'that  of  obedience  the  brethren  of  St.  Mark's 
dwell  at  some  length.  We  give  the  substance  of 
the  argument.  We  are  not,  they  write,  obliged  to 
obey  our  superiors  in  all  things,  but  only  when 
they  command  according  to  the  Gospel,  or  the  Rule 
and  Constitutions  to  which  we  have  vowed  obedi- 
ence. When  they  command  what  is  contrary  to 
these,  there  is  no  obligation  of  obedience.  The 
"  Apology "  declares  that  Savonarola  and  his 
brethren  are  certain  that  the  fusion  commanded, 
of  St.  Mark's  with  relaxed  convents,  is  contrary 
to  truth  and  charity  and  against  a  real  union  of 
heart  and  soul.  They  know  well  that  the  evils 
already' mentioned  would  follow,  and  that  other 
scandals  and  greater  losses  would  also  result  from 
the  movement. 

The  brethren  believe,  therefore,  that  it  is  neither 
the  intention  nor  the  will  of  their  Superior,  the 
Pope,  to  bind  them  by  obligations  which  it  would 
be  wrong  to  observe.  We  ought,  they  add,  to  fol- 
low the  mind  of  the  law-giver  rather  than  his 
words,  and  as  no  good  can  come  from  the  new 
province,  but  only  harm,  the  evil  design  of  those 

the  Order,  and  deposed  from  office  because  of  their  resistance 
to  the  movement.    See  Bayonne,  pp.  95,  98. 


94      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


Avho,  under  a  pretence  of  good,  have  urged  this 
union,  is  apparent.^ 

Towards  the  end  of  June,  in  an  audience  granted 
to  the  Florentine  ambassador  by  the  Pope,  the 
latter  angrily  protested  that  he  would  employ  all 
the  canonical  means  in  his  power  against  Savona- 
rola, as  a  contumacious  subject.  Then,  speaking 
more  gently,  Alexander  bade  the  envoy  write  to 
the  Signory  to  ask  that  the  Friar  be  sent  to  Rome, 
to  clear  himself,  adding  that  a  safe  conduct  would 
be  furnished.  "I  wish,"  he  concluded,  "to  hear 
him ;  if  he  is  innocent  I  shall  give  him  my  bless- 
ing; if  he  is  guilty  I  shall  exercise  justice  and 
mercy."  ^ 

The  Signory  would  not  accede  to  the  request. 
The  Florentine  politicians  declined  to  accept  as 
sufficient  the  papal  guaranty  for  Savonarola's  pro- 
tection, for  they  had  good  reason  to  fear  that  paid 
Mediceans  or  Arralhiati  assassins  would  beset  him 
on  the  road.  At  this  time  the  Friar's  letter  of 
sympathy  for  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Gandia  was 
on  its  way  to  the  Pope,  a  frank  and  friendly  utter- 

1  In  his  sermon  for  Septuagesima,  1498,  Savonarola  fully 
discusses  all  the  points  in  the  "Apology." 

2  Gherardi,  p.  172.  We  call  the  reader's  special  attention 
to  the  Pontiff's  clearly  expressed  doubt,  "  If  he  is  innocent.'* 
Alexander's  mind  was  not  satisfied.  He  was  not  convinced  of 
the  Friar's  guilt ;  and  therefore  he  was  not  certain  that  the  cen- 
sure had  been  incurred.  No  other  conclusion  may  be  drawn 
from  the  Pope's  words. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


95 


ance,  showing  the  character  of  the  man.  For  this 
reason  we  present  the  full  text :  ^  — 

Most  Holy  Father,  —  I  kiss  your  blessed  feet. 
Divine  Faith,  resting  as  it  does  on  unnumbered  mir- 
acles and  ever  strengthened  by  the  holy  works,  preach- 
ing, arguments,  doctrine,  and  blood  of  numberless 
glorious  martyrs,  is  the  only  true  peace  and  consolation 
of  the  human  heart.  For  while  Faith  transcends  sense 
and  reason,  and  rests  on  the  Divine  power  and  goodness, 
lifting  our  souls  to  the  things  that  are  invisible,  trans- 
porting us  above  this  world,  it  gives  us  such  nobility  of 
spirit  and  courage  that  we  not  only  bear  all  trials 
patiently,  but  even  glory  in  our  tribulations ;  for  it  is 
written  that  the  just  man  shall  not  be  sad,  no  matter 
what  may  happen  to  him.  The  just  man  is  one  who 
lives  in  Faith,  as  the  Lord  has  declared.  Blessed, 
therefore,  is  he  who  is  called  by  the  Lord  to  this  grace 
of  Faith,  without  which  no  one  can  have  peace,  accord- 
ing to  the  words  of  Isaiah :  There  is  no  peace  for  the 
wicked,  saith  the  Lord  my  God." 

May  your  Holiness,  Most  Blessed  Father,  realize 
how  quickly  soirow  may  be  turned  into  joy  !  Sweet, 
indeed  is  the  Lord,  Whose  goodness  is  infinitely  above 
our  sins.  Every  other  consolation  is  transitory  and 
deceitful,  because  time  is  short,  and  we  are  passing  to 
eternit3\  Faith  alone  brings  joy  from  the  heavenly 
land.  I  speak  from  experience,  from  what  I  have 
heard  and  seen  and  felt,  for  which  I  willingly  suffer 
persecution  that  I  may  gain  Christ,  and  escape  eternal 

1  Perrens  (pp.  364,  305)  gives  the  Latin. 


96      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED 


punishment,  knowing  that  it  is  a  terrible  thing  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  living  God. 

May  your  Holiness,  therefore,  help  the  work  of 
Faith,  for  which  I  labor  constantly,  even  unto  bonds.  I 
pray  your  Holiness  not  to  give  ear  to  the  wicked ;  and 
may  God  grant  to  3''ou  the  oil  of  joy  instead  of  the 
spirit  of  mourning.  I  have  spoken  in  this  the  truth; 
for  who  has  ever  resisted  God  and  found  peace  ? 

These  things,  Most  Holy  Father,  I  humbly  write  to 
you  under  the  inspiration  of  charity,  desiring  that 
your  Holiness  may  be  truly  consoled  in  the  Lord,  and 
not  deceitfully.  For  soon  His  anger  will  flame  out, 
and  blessed  shall  they  be  who  trust  in  Him.  May  the 
God  of  all  consolation.  Who  raised  from  the  dead  the 
great  Pastor  of  His  sheep,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
deliver  you  from  all  tribulation,  in  the  Blood  of  His 
Eternal  Testament.    Farewell ! 

Florence,  June  25,  1497. 

The  Pope  seemed  to  receive  this  letter  with 
good-will,  though  the  Friar's  enemies  pretended  to 
regard  it  as  insolent.  The  conspirators  distorted 
every  utterance  of  Savonarola,  and  not  only  did 
they  put  an  evil  construction  on  all  his  actions, 
however  meritorious,  but,  usurping  the  judgment 
of  God,  they  unscrupulously  condemned  his  mo- 
tives and  imputed  evil  to  him  in  his  holiest  works. 

In  July  two  petitions  were  drawn  up,  one  by  the 
brethren  of  St.  Mark's,  the  other  by  Florentine 
citizens,  both  bearing  generous  testimony  to  the 
Prior's  virtues  and  great  services  to  religion. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS. 


97 


and  praying  relief  from  the  ban  against  liim.^  The 
Signory  elected  for  July  and  August,  and  com- 
posed of  the  Friar's  friends,  also  redoubled  their 
efforts  for  the  same  purpose.^  About  this  time  a 
proposition  was  made  to  Savonarola  that  if  five 
thousand  scudi  were  paid  to  a  certain  creditor  of 
the  Cardinal  of  Siena,  he  would  procure  the  revo- 
cation of  the  Brief.^  With  righteous  indignation 
the  Friar  spurned  the  offer. 

1  Villari  (ii.  xlii-xliv)  gives  the  full  Italian  text.  Also  in  his 
*'  Scelta/'  pp.  512-519,  this  latter  including  the  names  of  the 
citizen  signatories. 

2  Quetif  (pp.  127  seq.)  gives  the  full  text  (Latin)  of  an  ad- 
mirable letter,  reverential  in  language,  dignified  in  tone,  religious 
in  spirit,  which  the  Signory  despatched  to  the  Pope,  eulogizing 
the  Friar,  whose  shining  virtues  had  made  him  the  target  of 
envy,  and  pleading,  for  liis  sake,  for  the  welfare  of  souls,  for 
the  honor  of  the  Florentine  people  ever  loyal  to  the  Holy  See, 
that  the  ban  should  be  raised,  —  a  favor  they  would  welcome 
as  the  highest  proof  of  pontifical  good-will,  greater  than  any 
other  His  Holiness  could  grant.  The  original  of  this  letter, 
witli  others,  we  give  in  an  appendix. 

3  Burlamacchi,  p.  553 ;  Villari,  ii.  198.  The  statement  of 
these  writers  we  find  confirmed  by  the  prudent  and  fair-minded 
Father  Marchesc,  who  discovered  a  letter  from  Savonarola  to  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Duke  of  Ferrara,  in  which  he  said,  "  I  would 
consider  myself  far  more  heavily  censured  if  I  accepted  the  rev- 
ocation of  the  ban  under  such  terms."  He  added  that  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  was  personally  well  disposed  towards  him, 
but  that  powerful  and  malevolent  individuals  were  endeavoring 
to  sway  the  Pope.  Henceforth,  therefore,  he  must  abandon 
himself  to  God,  in  Whose  hands  are  all  things,  with  the  firm  con- 
viction that  He  will  bring  what  is  best,  and  that  no  adversity 
can  prevail  against  one  who  has  done  no  iniquity.  (Marchese, 
Scritti  Vari,  i,  287).  Certainly  he  was  making  a  brave  fight,  for 
the  noblest  of  ends;  but  how  uneven  Avas  the  contest! 

7 


98      WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


It  is  not  necessary  to  give  all  the  letters  that 
passed  between  Florence  and  Rome  during  this 
troubled  time.  Those  from  Florence  had  the  same 
determined  purpose  :  the  Friar's  friends,  led  by  the 
Signory,  strove  manfully  to  have  the  Brief  re- 
voked ;  his  enemies  were  unwearied,  not  in  fair 
opposition,  but  in  continued  and  often  malignant 
misrepresentation.  In  all  this,  Savonarola  saw 
only  the  development  of  what  he  had  predicted, 
the  working  out,  in  orderly  fashion,  of  the  plan 
permitted  by  God  for  the  purification  of  His  true 
servants.  Hence  he  proclaimed  the  jubilant  spirit 
of  himself  and  his  brethren  whose  prayers  were 
constant  for  their  adversaries.^ 

As  demonstrating  the  humility,  obedience,  and 
truly  religious  spirit  of  Savonarola,  the  following 
letter  written  by  him  on  October  13,  1497,  five 
months  after  the  issue  of  the  Brief  of  excommuni- 
cation, is  of  great  value :  ^  — 

1  Letter  to  della  Mirandola,  dated  July  2.  The  full  text 
(Italian)  is  given  in  "  Miscellanea,"  p.  589. 

2  The  original  (Latin)  of  this  important  letter  was  discovered 
in  the  early  part  of  1898,  on  the  occasion  of  special  researches 
in  view  of  the  fourth-centenary  celebrations  of  the  Friar's  death. 
For  interesting  details  and  for  the  original  draft,  see  pp.  83,  8-4 
of  the  Quarto  Centenario  Magazine.  It  is  not  known  whether  the 
Pope  received  this  appeal.  Considering  the  probably  favorable 
disposition  of  Alexander,  as  previously  noted,  and  finding  no 
record  of  an  answer,  or  any  reference  to  Savonarola's  commu- 
nication, we  believe  that  it  did  not  reach  the  Holy  Father,  who 
could  scarcely  have  declined  to  notice  so  touching  a  proof  of 
reverence  and  submission.  We  are  of  the  opinion  that  the 
letter  was  intercepted  by  the  Friar's  enemies.     As  the  latter 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS. 


99 


]\IosT  Holt  Father,  —  I  kiss  your  blessed  feet  ! 
As  a  child,  grieving  for  having  incurred  the  displeasure 
of  his  father,  seeks  and  craves  every  means  and 
opportunity  of  appeasing  his  anger  (nor  can  any 
repulse  make  him  despair  of  regaining  his  wonted  affec- 
tion, since  it  is  written,  Ask  and  it  shall  be  given 
to  you,  knock  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you"),  so  I 
also,  more  anxious  because  your  Holiness  has  with- 
drawn your  favor  from  me  than  for  any  other  loss,  eagerly 
fly  to  your  feet,  beseeching  you  that  at  last  ^  my  cry 
may  be  heard  in  your  sight,  and  that  I  may  no  longer 
be  deprived  of  your  embrace. 

To  whom  shall  I  go,  if  not,  as  one  of  his  sheep,  to 
the  Shepherd  whose  voice  I  long  to  hear,  whose  bless- 
ing I  implore,  whose  saving  presence  I  ardently 
desire  ?  I  would  at  once  go  and  cast  myself  at  your 
feet  if  I  could  make  the  journey,  free  from  the  attacks 
and  plots  of  wicked  men.  As  soon  as  I  can  do  so  with- 
out risk,  I  intend  to  start,  and  with  all  my  heart  I 
wish  it,  so  that  at  last  I  may  clear  myself  from  every 
calumny. 

In  the  meantime,  T  most  humbly  submit,  in  all 
things,  as  I  have  ever  done,  to  your  supreme  author- 
ity; for  if  through  want  of  judgment  or  inadvertence 
I  have  erred,  you  will  not  find  in  me  wilful  malice.  I 

were  capable  of  any  iniquity  against  him,  and  as  they  had  on 
various  occasions  waylaid  his  couriers,  stolen  his  correspond- 
ence, and  forged  despatches  in  his  name,  we  are  not  rash  in 
suspecting  them  of  a  like  offence  on  this  occasion.  For  in- 
stances of  this  dishonorable  method  of  opposition,  characteristic 
of  the  age,  we  refer  the  reader  to  Villari,  ii.  119,  20o. 

1  The  natural  inference  is  that  vSavonarola  had  previously 
written  without  avail;  the  letters  were  probably  intercepted 
or  lost. 


100    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


humbly  implore  forgiveness.  I  beseech  your  Holiness, 
therefore,  that  you  will  deign  not  to  close  against  me 
the  fountain  of  your  clemency  and  benignity,  for  did 
you  know  me  you  would  find  me  not  less  devoted  to 
your  Holiness  than  sincere,  and  ever  your  most 
obedient  servant.  I  humbly  commend  mj-self  to  your 
Holiness. 

Your  Holiness's  most  devoted  son  and  servant. 

The  efforts  of  his  friends  continued  in  unabated 
zeal,  and  their  hope  of  relief  was  general.  As  late 
as  November  19,  according  to  a  letter  written  by 
the  Roman  envoy  of  the  Duke  of  Ferrara,  Savona- 
rola had  reason  to  expect  a  speedy  and  favorable 
settlement  of  the  unhappy  affair,  for  even  then  the 
Pope  seemed  kindly  disposed  towards  him.^  But 
the  spirit  of  revenge  and  the  conflicting  interests 
of  politics  were  destined  to  spoil  all.^ 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  the  Republic  be- 
came impatient  on  account  of  hopes  so  long 
deferred,  and  arranged  to  send  Dominic  Bonsi,  as 
a  second  special  envoy  to  Rome,  instructed  to 
co-operate  with  Bracci  for  three  purposes :  the  re- 
lief of  Savonarola,  the  restoration  of  Pisa  through 
the  Pope's  influence,  and  an  authorization  to  levy 
a  tax  on  church  property,  to  enable  the  government 
to  meet  extraordinary  expenses. 

The  new  year,  1498,  was  drawing  near,  with 

1  Cappelli,  pp.  98,  99. 

2  Bonsji's  letter  (Gherardi,-  p.  208),  sent  later,  proves  this. 
See  also  Marcliese,  Scritti  Vari,  i.  238. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AND  LETTERS.  101 


Savonarola  still  in  retirement  and  entering  on  the 
seventh  month  of  his  public  submission  to  the 
Brief  of  excommunication,  though  in  his  own  con- 
vent he  held  his  office  of  Prior  (and  no  contrarj^ 
orders  had  come  from  the  Master  General) ,  and  had 
celebrated  Mass  daily.^  It  was  his  deference  for 
the  papal  mandate,  his  fear  of  possible  scandal  to 
the  weak,  that  dictated  his  public  course,  and  with- 
held him,  during  the  plague  in  the  summer  of 
1497,  from  ministering  sacramentally  to  the  afflicted 
people.^ 

The  period  of  silence  had,  however,  been  well 
utilized.  Some  of  Savonarola's  best  literary  work 
was  then  done,  including  the  completion  of  the 
"  Triumph  of  the  Cross."  Moreover,  the  nature  of 
the  difficulty  between  himself  and  the  Pope  had 
been  explained  and  made  clear  through  various 
publications.  The  question  had  been  fully  dis- 
cussed pro  and  con^  the  most  notable  contribution 
to  the  controversy,  after  the  Friar's  own  writings, 

1  Among  his  own  brethren  he  had  not  ceased  to  discharge 
any  of  the  offices  of  religion.  The  Chronicle  of  St.  Mark  re- 
cords, among  other  incidents  of  this  period,  several  receptions 
to  the  habit  and  professions  of  novices  made  under  Savonarola 
as  Prior  of  the  convent. 

2  Ignorance  on  this  point  has  led  incompetent  writers  to 
charge  Savonarola  with  cowardice,  tiie  last  accusation  that 
could  be  brought  against  him.  Two  beautiful  letters  breathing 
the  spirit  of  a  true  servant  of  God,  not  only  ready  to  lay  down  his 
life,  but  even  eager  for  death,  are  his  own  clear  evidence.  They 
were  written  in  July,  and  were  addressed  to  the  Brethren  of  St. 
Mark's,  and  to  a  Father  Paul.    See  E pi  stolen,  pp.  179  seq. 


102    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


having  been  John  Francis  Pico  della  Mirandola's 
"Defence  against  the  Unjust  Excommunication."  ^ 

The  majority  of  the  people  were,  therefore,  not 
only  instructed,  prepared  against  scandal,  but  were 
eager  for  the  reappearance  in  the  pulpit  of  the 
Friar.  "  We  die  of  hunger,"  they  said ;  "  when 
will  you  preach  ?  "  ^  Since  Jul}^  they  had  wit- 
nessed the  results  of  his  suspension,  for,  in  less  than 
a  month  after  the  excommunication  had  been  pub- 
lished, Florence  had  gone  back  to  the  days  of 
Lorenzo.  "  Immoral  practices  had  returned,  as  if 
by  magic;  the  churches  had  been  deserted,  and 
the  taverns  filled."  ^  The  contemporary  historian 
Nardi  paints  a  sad  picture ;  and  the  drawing  of 
other  writers  of  the  time  is  equally  graphic. 

The  libertines,  who  thoroughly  understood  the  sit- 
uation, were  for  their  own  vile  purposes  delighted  at 
the  great  preacher's  humiliation  and  powerlessness. 
The  cold-blooded  politicians,  who  had  no  standard 
save  that  of  selfishness  and  expediency,  though  they 
were  aware  of  the  facts  governing  the  case,  were 
ready  to  play  politics  against  religion,  Pisa  against 
the  Friar,  as  might  best  suit  their  present  purpose.^ 

1  Quetif  gives  the  original  Latin,  —  the  first  of  his  "Addi- 
tiones." 

2  Bayonne,  p.  142. 

^  Villari,  ii.  193.  The  Friar  himself  enters  into  details  in  his 
second  sermon  on  Exodus,  showing  the  fearful  backsliding  of 
the  people. 

4  The  sad  ending  of  May,  1498,  would  prove  how  few  real 
friends  Savonarola  had  among  the  public  men  of  Florence. 
His  passing  was  to  be  another  illustration  of  the  painful  truth 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS.  103 


CHRISTMAS,  1497  —  FEBRUARY  11,  1498. 

Having  taken  careful  measure  of  the  state  of 
affairs,  having  deliberately  weighed  all  the  circum- 
stances, in  the  light,  not  of  conscience  onty,  but  of 
theology  and  canon  law,  and  after  counsel  with 
competent  men  in  his  own  community  and  with 
other  friends,  Savonarola  determined  to  assert 
what  he  believed  to  be  his  right,  to  fulfil  what 
he  regarded  as  a  duty. 

On  Christmas,  1497,  he  publicly  celebrated  Mass, 
administered  Communion  to  a  large  number  of  the 
faithful,  and  conducted  a  grand  procession  through 
the  cloister  and  square  of  St.  IMark's.^ 

On  Epiphany,  1498,  the  Signory  in  a  body  sol- 
emnly went  to  St.  Mark's  to  attend  the  Mass,  which 
was  sung  by  the  Prior.  Tliis  demonstration  was 
intended  by  the  officials  to  be  a  public  manifesta- 
tion of  their  veneration  for  Savonarola,  whose  hand 
each  one  in  turn  afterwards  kissed.  Three  days 
later  Bonsi  started  for  Rome. 

For  almost  a  month  the  political  fencing  was 
continued.  On  February  8,  the  envoy  was  able  to 
report  to  his  Government  that  the  Pope,  having 

that  not  many  politicians  are  capable  of  genuine  friendship 
when  their  interests  are  endangered. 

1  This  procession  was  but  a  part  of  the  extraordinary  devo- 
tions that  had  been  offered  by  request  of  Savonarola,  in  all  the 
convents  of  the  Congregation,  from  All  Saints,  1497,  in  suppli- 
cation for  light  and  for  the  special  mercy  of  God  on  His 
afflicted  Church. 


104    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


received  guaranties,  was  prepared  to  settle  the 
affair  of  Pisa,  and  that  then  he  would  do  everything 
possible  to  gratify  the  Republic.^  In  the  meantime 
the  Signory  had  ordered  that  benches  should  be 
provided  for  the  Cathedral,  as  during  the  Lent  of 
1496.  The  Vicar  General,^  the  Archbishop  being 
then  absent,  made  a  protest,  and  published  a  letter 
forbidding  attendance  at  the  sermons,  under  pen- 
alty of  excommunication.  The  Signory  gave  him 
two  hours  to  withdraw  his  threats  and  prohibi- 
tions, and  to  resign  his  post,  or  they  would  deal 
with  him  as  a  rebel.^  This  decisive  stand  had  the 
desired  effect. 

Savonarola  was  then  in  the  Convent  of  Fiesole. 
Thither  the  ambassador  of  the  Duke  of  Ferrara 
went  to  interview  him  as  to  his  feelings  and  wishes. 
To  the  ambassador's  objection  that  if  he  preached 
he  would  give  scandal,  Savonarola  answered  that 
had  the  censure  been  justly  inflicted,  no  one  would 
more  fully  respect  it.  He  commented  on  the  de- 
plorable condition  of  the  Roman  Court,  and  added 
that  his  speaking  would  provoke  neither  scandal 
nor  disorder.* 

On   Septuagesima   Sunday,   February  11,  he 

1  Gherardi,  p.  176. 

2  A  member  of  the  Medici  family. 
2  Nardi,  1.  ii.,  p.  60. 

*  Cappelli,  pp.  101,  102.  The  reader  who  consults  Pastor, 
"  History  of  the  Popes/'  vi.  104-106,  will  learn  of  one  most 
painful  incident  which  then  kindled  anew  and  justly  the  fire  of 
Savonarola's  indignant  zeal. 


FACTS,  BRIEFS,  AXD  LETTERS.  105 


mounted  the  pulpit  of  the  Duomo,  and  delivered  a 
remarkable  sermon,  during  which  he  explained 
and  defended  his  position  with  regard  to  the  ex- 
communication. 

Here,  we  believe,  our  narration  of  the  historical 
facts  should  close,  with  the  presentation  of  one 
letter,  that  written  by  the  Friar  on  March  13,  and 
promptly  forwarded  to  the  Pope.  We  pass  by  the 
"  ordeal,"  the  foolish  and  unhappy  spectacle  that 
was  the  immediate  occasion  for  the  mob's  out- 
break ;  we  do  not  consider  the  treachery  of  the 
selfish  politicians  who  bartered  away  the  life  of  an 
unselfish  benefactor  and  genuine  patriot;  we  do 
not  chscuss  Savonarola's  letters  to  the  sovereigns, 
touching  a  Council,  —  an  occasion  of  great  alarm  to 
Alexander,  ^  of  renewed  anger  against  the  bold 
friar,  a7id  the  final  cause  of  Ids  death?  We  do  not 
enter  on  a  criticism  of  his  preaching  following  his 
appearance  in  the  pulpit  on  Septuagesima  Sunday 

What  Savonarola  said  or  did  subsequently  has 
no  bearing  on  the  validity  of  the  censure.  An  in- 
telligent judgment  of  his  case  can  be  formed  only 
after  a  consideration  of  the  essential  facts  as  we 
have  given  them  ;  and  only  after  a  studious  exami- 
nation of  these  facts  under  the  light  of  admitted 
principles  of  canon  law  and  theolog}^  can  a  satis- 

1  Nardi,  1.  ii.,  p.  70. 

2  In  a  subsequent  volume,  I  hope  to  discuss  these  questions 
freely,  when  I  shall  give  important  documents. 

3  We  shall,  however,  refer  to  these  sermons  in  the  course  of 
our  argument. 


106    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


factory  answer  be  made  to  our  inquiry.  Still,  a 
letter  written  by  the  Friar  at  a  time  when  he  fore- 
saw rapidly  approaching  the  end  which  for  years 
he  had  predicted,  affords  an  insight  into  his  soul 
and  the  purpose  of  his  mission,  that  may  not  be 
valueless  in  our  estimate  of  his  conduct.  We 
give  the  full  text :  ^  — 

Most  Holy  Father,  —  Having  seen  some  pastors 
of  the  Church  leading  into  error,  through  evil  example 
and  unsound  doctrine,  the  sheep  committed  to  their 
care,  yea,  by  their  many  crimes  going  forward  to  hell, 
I  considered  it  part  of  my  duty,  for  the  honor  of  God 
and  for  the  exaltation  of  the  most  Holy  Faith,  to  de- 
fend the  truth  of  Catholic  teaching,  to  denounce  im- 
morality, to  correct  sinners,  and  to  recall  them  to  a 
Christian  manner  of  living.  But  while  I  so  preach, 
endeavoring,  by  the  announcement  of  impending 
scourges  for  the  wicked,  to  draw  the  people  to  the 
narrow  way,  ^'tribulation  and  distress  have  seized 
me,  and  there  is  no  one  who  will  console  or  help  me." 

At  least,  I  hoped  that  your  Holiness  would  come  to 
my  aid,  and  that  you  would  arise  and  fight  for  me, 
against  the  enemies  of  the  Faith.  The  contrary,  alas, 
has  happened  !  Since  your  HoUness  rejected  so  many 
vindications  of  my  innocence,  so  many  reasons  sub- 
mitted to  you,  not  to  excuse  sin,  but  to  demon- 
strate the  purity  of  my  teaching,  the  truth  of  my 
preaching,  and  to  show  the  humility  with  which  I 
venerate  your  Holiness  and  the  Holy  Eoman  Church  ; 

1  For  the  Latin  text,  see  Qiietif,  pp.  298-300. 


FACTS,  BBIEFS,  AND  LETTERS.  107 


and  since,  as  it  seems,  you  gave  ear  to  my  adversaries, 
so  that  it  was  hopeless  for  me  to  look  for  any  help  from 
your  Holiness,  which  of  right  I  should  receive  from 
the  Supreme  Pastor,  I  consider  myself  as  abandoned  to 
the  fierce  wolves  who  rage  against  me. 

However,  my  hope  is  in  Him  who  chooses  the  weak 
things  of  this  world  that  He  may  confound  the  strong. 
He  will  hear  me,  because  of  the  truth  for  which  I 
have  borne  and  suffered  so  much.  And  He  will  punish 
those  who  have  persecuted  me,  who  have  prevented  the 
work  of  God  which  I  strove  to  do,  after  the  example 
of  Christ;  for  never  did  I  seek  my  own  glory  nor  do  I 
seek  it  now,  but  on]y  death,  and  that  with  the  most 
ardent  longing. 

Let  your  Holiness  not  fail  to  take  measures  for 
your  own  salvation. 

Your  useless  servant  in  Jesus  Christ. 

March  13,  1498. 

There  was  no  answer  to  this  letter ;  its  effect  on 
Alexander  cannot  be  judged,  but  succeeding  events 
were  calamitous  for  the  Friar. 


108    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


II. 

THE  QUESTION  OF  CENSURES. 

THAT  our  readers  may  have  before  them  the 
principles  of  canon  law  regarding  ecclesias- 
tical censures,  as  these  affect  Savonarola's  case,  we 
present  such  principles  with  sufficient  fulness  for 
an  intelligent  understanding.  A  censure  is  a  spir- 
itual and  medicinal  penalty,  inflicted  by  competent 
ecclesiastical  authority,  on  those  of  the  faithful 
who  are  delinquent  and  contumacious,  through 
which  penalty  they  are  deprived,  for  a  time,  of  the 
use  of  certain  spiritual  goods,  for  the  purpose  of 
just  punishment,  but  chiefly  to  induce  them  to 
relinquish  their  obstinacy  or  contumacy  in  sin. 
Our  definition  embodies  the  points  generally  in- 
cluded by  canonists.^ 

Of  the  three  kinds  of  censures  that  are  employed 
by  the  Church,  we  are  concerned  with  one  only, 
excommunication,  which  is  defined  as  a  separation 

1  Billuart,  de  Censuris,  D.  i.,  art.  i.,  torn,  ix.,  p.  482 ;  Schmalz- 
grueber,  pars  iv.,  t.  39,  n.  1  seq. ;  Reiffenstuel,  1.  v.  Decret. 
t.  89,  c.  1,  n.  1-6,  torn,  v.,  p.  320 ;  Zallinger,  1.  v.,  t.  39,  torn. 
V.  p.  255;  Stremler,  prem.  partie,  s.  iv.,  c.  1,  p.  171;  Leander, 
Tr.  i.,  D.  i.,  q.  1  seq.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  3,  4 ;  and  canonists  and 
moral  theologians  in  general.  Leander  enters  into  details  not 
generally  available,  on  every  phase  of  the  intricate  question  of 
Censures. 


THE  QUESTION  OF  CENSURES.  109 


from  the  communion  of  the  Church  as  to  fruit  and 
general  suffrages.  ^ 

We  may  enhirge  on  this  language  of  the  schools, 
so  as  to  render  it  more  clearly  intelligible  to  the 
general  reader,  by  stating  that  the  drawing  of  this 
sword,  as  the  Council  of  Trent  ^  designates  excom- 
munication, whereby  a  diseased  member  is  severed 
from  the  spiritual  Body  of  Christ,  is  the  gravest 
penalty  that  the  Church  can  impose ;  ^  it  implies 
the  most  grievous  deprivation,  an  ejection,  for  a 
time,  from  the  household  of  God  on  earth,  and  a 
denial  of  certain  spiritual  favors  and  blessings 
which  are  the  happy  portion  of  the  faithful. 

We  say  an  ejection /o?-  a  tinie^  because,  while  an 
excommmiication  might  endure,  on  account  of  the 
obstinacy  of  the  sinner,  until  death,  its  purpose,  in 
the  mind  of  the  Church,  is  of  salutary  punishment, 
leading  to  a  change  of  life,  ui'ging  a  return  to  God  in 
penitence ;  and,  therefore,  as  a  disciplinary  and  me- 
dicinal remedy,  this  separation  of  a  member  from 
the  Body  of  Christ,  is  not  intended  to  be  perpetual.^ 

1  St.  Thomas,  In  4  Sent.  Y).  xviii.,  q.  2,  a.  2,  and  Supple- 
mentum,  q.  xxi.,  a.  1;  St.  Raymundus,  1.  iii.,  t.  33,  s.  6,  p.  380. 

2  Sess.  XXV.,  cap,  3,  de  Reforniatione,  where  the  Conciliar 
Fathers  speak  of  excommunication  as  the  very  nerves  of  eccle- 
siastical discipline.  Several  of  the  early  Fathers  also  use  the 
figure  of  a  sword  to  signify  the  spiritual  weapon  of  excommuni- 
cation. Thus  St.  Cyprian,  Epistle  (32,  to  Pomponius,  n.  4,  tom. 
iv.,  p.  371,  and  St.  Jerome,  Epistle  14,  to  Hcliodorus,  n.  8,  tom. 
1.  (xxii.  of  Patrology),  p.  3-32. 

3  St.  Augustine,  Lib.  de  Correptione  et  Gratia,  cap.  xv.,  p. 
944,  tom.  X.  (xliv.  of  Patrology) ;  Benedict  XIV.,  1.  x.,  c.  1,  p.  343. 

*  St.  Antoninus,  cap.  7G,  n.  1,  p.  383  (secundo) ;  St.  Angus- 


110    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


We  also  say  a  denial  of  certain  spiritual  favors,  be- 
cause, though  excommunication  deprives  the  person 
so  censured,  either  wholly  or  in  part,  of  the  com- 
mon spiritual  goods  of  the  Church,  —  as  Mass,  the 
Sacraments,  —  it  does  not  strip  him  of  those  which 
proceed  directly  from  Christ  the  Head,  —  as  Faith 
and  Hope,  —  over  which  the  Church  does  not  exer- 
cise control,  nor  does  it  shut  him  out  from  the 
private  prayers  of  the  faithful,  since  the  Church 
does  not  wish  to  raise  such  a  barrier  against  his  aid. 
A  member  thus  rejected  from  the  household  of  the 
Faith  is,  while  the  censure  endures,  as  "the 
heathen  and  the  publican,"  ^  as  one  given  over  to 
Satan.2 

As  the  right  of  fulminating  such  a  censure 
arises  from  the  authority  with  which  Jesus  Christ 
has  enriched  His  Church,  for  her  proper  gov- 
ernment and  for  just  defence  against  unruly  mem- 
bers, this  power  is  not  a  personal,  absolute  right, 
subject  to  the  mere  will  of  prelates,  but  it  must 
be  exercised  "  with  great  sobriety  and  modera- 

tine  (loc.  cit.),  who  speaks  of  it  as  a  pastoral  necessity,  a  separa- 
tion from  the  healthy  sheep  of  one  who  has  been  contaminated, 
in  the  hope  of  its  cure,  a  separation  with  love  (Enarratio  in 
Ps.  liv.,  N.  9,  tom.  iv.,  635),  and  as  a  merciful  severity  (De 
Fide  et  Operibus,  c.  iii.,  tom.  vi,,  199),  respectively  tom.  xxxv. 
and  xxxvii.  of  Patrology ;  Craisson,  tom.  iv.,  lib.  iii.,  pars 
3,  cap.  2,  N.  6300,  p.  308. 

1  St.  Matthew  xviii.  17. 

2  1  Corinthians  v.  5 ;  St.  Augustine  (De  Verbis  Evangelii 
Matthaei,  Sermo  68,  n.  4,  p.  1876,  tom.  v.,  altera  pars,  xxxix. 
of  Patrology)  says  that  such  a  one  has  gone  down  by  the  broad 
and  spacious  way,  as  to  hell. 


THE  QUESTION  OF  CENSURES. 


Ill 


tion ; "  1  it  is  safeguarded  by  well-defined  condi- 
ditions  in  respect  to  which  ecclesiastical  law  is 
explicit.  We  shall,  therefore,  present  some  points 
as  taught  by  canonists  on  censures  in  general, 
confining  ourselves  to  those  which  are  available 
in  excommunication,  and  which  are  particularly 
applicable  in  the  special  case  of  Savonarola. 

The  infliction  of  this  penalty  presupposes  a  very 
grave  offence  against  Faith,  morals,  or  ecclesiasti- 
cal discipline.  Such  a  sin  must  be  not  only  mortal 
internally,  or  in  conscience,  but  it  must  also  be  ex- 
ternally evident  in  its  enormity,  complete  of  its 
kind,  and  specially  prohibited  by  the  Church,  under 
censure.  Moreover,  in  case  of  an  individual  ex- 
communicated, his  crime  must  be  entirely  personal, 
his  own  alone,  so  to  speak,  and  even  notorious, 
before  he  can  be  denounced  as  having  incurred 
such  a  penalty.  Finally,  in  this  unhappy  state  of 
guilt  the  delinquent  must  be  truly  obstinate  or 
contumacious,  before  he  can  be  bound  in  conscience, 
though  the  just  presumption  of  such  a  state  of 
mind  would  suffice  for  the  external  effects  of  a 
censure.2 

1  Cone.  Trid.  Sess.  XXV.,  cap.  3,  de  Reformatione. 

2  The  reader  is  referred  to  the  following  authorities :  Con- 
cilium Lateranensc,  cap.  48,  de  Scntentia  Exc. ;  Concilium  Luf?- 
dunense,  cap.  Const/tutionem,  9  de  Sent.  Exc.  in  6°;  Concil.  Trid. 
Sess.  XXV.,  c.  3,  de  Reformatione  ;  St.  Raymundus,  1.  iii.,t.  33,  s. 
7,  p.  391 ;  Sclimalzgrueber,  pars  iv.,  t.  39,  de  Sent.  Exc.  tom.  xi., 
p.  397,  no.  34,  pp.  403,  405,  400,  nn.  57,  62-66;  Billuart,  de 
Censuris,  D.  i.,  a.  4,  tom.  ix.,  pp.  482  seq. ;  St.  Alphonsus,  1.  vii.,  c. 
1.,  n.  31,  48,  49,  tom.  ii.,  pp.  791,  795 ;  Fagnanus,  cap.  liesponso,  in 


112    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


The  note  of  contumacy  is  warranted  only  when 
a  warning  has  been  given,  and  has  not  been  heeded. 
For  censures  attached  to  a  fixed  law,  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  statute  constitutes  a  standing 
warning,  though  a  more  formal  or  canonical  admo- 
nition is  necessary  for  due  order  and  for  the  justice 
of  such  a  penalty.  For  the  valid  infliction  of 
censures  emanating  from  a  superior  commanding 
a  particular  thing  by  way  of  a  personal  precept,^ 

ii.  par.  de  Sent  Exc.  n.  92,  torn.  iv.  194,  secundo;  Bucceroni,  p.  7  ; 
D'Annibale,  t.  vi.,  tit.  xi.,  c.  1,  torn,  i.,  p.  321 ;  Castro  Palao,  de 
Censuris,  pars  vi.,  D.  1,  p.  7,  nn.  6,  7 ;  Concina  (Theologia),  1.  iii., 
c.  4,  de  Censuris,  torn,  x.,  p.  254;  Leander,  t.  i.  D.  8,  q.  2  seq., 
torn,  iv.,  pp.  58  seq.  ;  Stremler,  prem.p.  c.  vi.,  s.  4,  p.  189  ;  Cabas- 
sutius,  1.  v.,  c.  10,  n.  11,  torn,  ii.,  p.  172;  Eeiffenstuel,  1.  v.  Decret. 
t.  39,  de  Sent.  Exc.  c.  1.,  nn.  8,  9,  p.  320;  Bailly,  torn,  ii.,  5,  a.  5 ; 
Berardi,  pars  ii.,  D.  3,  c.  4,  torn,  iv.,  p.  237 ;  Praelectiones  S. 
Sulpitii,  pars  iv.,  s.  7,  a.  1,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  227  seq.;  Benedict  XIV., 
1.  ix.,  c.  6,  and  c.  14,  pp.  299,  329, 1.  x.  c.  1,  p.  343  ;  Craisson,  torn, 
iv.,  lib.  iii.  pars  3,  n.  0321  seq.,  pp.  294,  295,  and  cap.  2,  sec.  iv.,  n. 
6394  seq..,  pp.  319-324.  On  tlie  rashness  and  injustice  of  supe- 
riors indiscreetly  imposing  censures,  especially  those  latce  sen- 
tenti(e,  Gerson  writes  plainly.  "  To  whom,"  asks  this  celebrated 
doctor,  "shall  I  liken  such  men,  who,  for  political  convenience 
or  for  avoiding  slight  trouble,  act  in  this  manner  ?  To  one 
who,  wishing  to  brush  from  his  neighbor's  forehead  a  fly,  strikes 
him  with  an  axe  and  dashes  out  his  brains."  (Quoted  by  Van 
Espen,  torn,  ix.,  p.  15.)    Vigorous  and  picturesque ! 

We  do  not  consider  in  this  discussion,  what  is  known  as 
minor  excommunication,  which  may  be  inflicted  for  venial  sin. 
It  is  "not  only  irrelevant,  but,  strictly  speaking,  it  is  not  ex- 
communication as  generally  understood,  wliich,  as  St.  An- 
toninus says,  cap.  74,  n.  9,  following  the  canons,  cap.  Si  qiiem, 
59,  de  Sent.  Excom.  is  always  considered  major  when  there  is 
no  distinction ;  nor  is  it  any  longer  of  practical  purpose. 

1  Which  is  considered  temporary,  as  distinguished  from  a 
law  that  is  stable  and  fixed ;  and  thus  penalties  announced  by 


THE  QUESTION  OF  CEXSURES.  113 


some  warning  is  necessary.  The  obligation  of  a 
canonical  or  triple  and  written  admonition  rests 
on  Scriptural  grounds  ^  and  has  a  solenui  historical 
confirmation  in  the  case  of  Nestorius,  who  was 
thrice  warned  by  tlie  Fathers  of  Ephesus,  and  in 
that  of  Dioscorus,  who  was  treated  in  like  manner 
by  the  Fathers  of  Clialcedon. 

According  to  the  doctors  in  canon  law,  this 
thi'eefold  admonition  is  necessary  for  the  legal 
justice  of  a  sentence  (unless  the  urgent  gravity 
of  the  case  would  warrant  a  superior  in  giving 
only  one  warning  and  that  peremptorily),  and 
according  to  the  present  discipline,  a  period  of  two 
days  at  least  should  intervene  between  the  formal 
written  announcements,^ 

the  former  are  known  as  censures  ah  homine,  and  the  latter, 
censures  a  jure.  For  this  distinction  as  to  the  efficient  cause  of 
censures,  the  reader  is  referred  to  any  of  our  canonist  authori- 
ties, but  St.  Raymond  (1.  iii.,  t.  33,  s.  7,  pp.  381,  392)  treats  this 
point  in  extenso  and  very  clearly. 

1  St.  Matthew  xviii.  15-18 ;  2  Thessalonians  iii.  11-15. 

2  St.  Antoninus,  cap.  74,  n.  5,  p,  .382  (secundo) ;  St.  Thomas, 
In  4  Sent.  D.  xix.,  q.  1,  art.  3;  St.  Alphonsus,  1.  vii.,  c.  1,  n.  52 
seq.,  torn.  ii.  pp.  790  se(j. :  Billuart,  loc.  cit.  ;  Panormitanus,  torn, 
viii.,  pp.  182,  183,  cc.  18,  19,  23,  who  claimed  tliat  four  days'  in- 
terval should  be  given  ;  Reiffenstuel,  loc.  cit.,  p.  321,  n.  24,  n.  37, 
p.  322,  tom.  V. ;  Schmalzgrueber,  pars  iv.  t.  39,  de  Sent.  Exc, 
tom.  xi.,  pp.  394-390,  n.  20-31 ;  D'Annibale,  Tr.  vi.,  tit.  1, 
tom.  i.,  pp.  323,  324;  Sand<T?us,  cap.  48,  Sacro,  de  Sent.  Exc.  ii. 
1224 ;  Bucceroni,  pp.  8,  9 ;  Leander,  t.  i.,  D.  5,  qq.  1  seq.,  tom. 
iv.,  pp.  36  seq. ;  Innocentius  IV.,  in  cap.  Cum  medicinalis,  de  Sent. 
Exc,  1.  v.,  p.  cxlix  (2) ;  Stremler,  prem.  p.,  s.iv.,  chap.  9,  pp.  212, 
213;  Cabassutius,  1.  v.,  c.  10,  n.  18  seq.,  pp.  175  seq.;  Benedict 
XIV.,  1.  ix.,  c.  14,  p.  .329;  De  Palude,  In  4  Sent.  D.  xviii.,  q.  1, 
art.  4.    This  feature  of  contumacy  (which  cannot  be  imputed 

8 


114    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


But,  without  ani/  warning,  at  least  verbal,  an 
alleged  delinquent  cannot  be  declared  contuma- 
cious, or  in  contempt,  even  virtual,  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal authority  commanding  under  censure  by  way 
of  a  particular  precept.  Therefore,  as  an  essential 
condition  (that  of  contumacy)  would  be  wanting, 
a  censure  ab  homine,  so  promulgated,  would  be 
invalid.^ 

Considering  the  formal  terms  in  which  they  are 
expressed,  censures  are  distinguished  as  latce  sen- 
tentice^  and  ferendce  sententice.  In  doubt,  the 
latter,  as  the  milder,  is  always  to  be  understood.- 
By  censures  latce  sententice  those  are  meant  that 
are  so  joined  to  a  law  or  a  precept  that  by  the  very 
fact  of  disobedience  to  such  law  or  precept,  the 
penalty  is  incurred,  in  conscience  and  before  God. 
For  the  public  brand  and  effect  before  men  there  is 
required,  however,  a  due  statement,  by  competent 
authorit}^  of  the  admitted  or  proved  fact  of  such 
disobedience.  Such  a  statement,  or  sentence,  does 
not  require  a  judicial  process ;  it  is  simply  a  formal 

where  there  is  no  warning)  is  so  essential  that  it  is  only  when  it 
is  present  and  grave  that,  according  to  the  general  opinion  of 
canonists,  excommunication  can  be  inflicted  for  sins  altogether 
past  and  having  no  relation  to  the  future.  And  then  the 
penalty  strikes  directly,  not  the  sin,  but  the  persistence  in  it  by 
the  obstinate  sinner. 

1  Consult  authorities  named  in  preceding  note  (2,  p.  113,) 
and  canonists  in  general. 

2  Schmalzgrueber,  pars  iv.,  t.  39,  de  Sent.  Exc.  toni.  xi.,  p.  388, 
n.  11;  Bucceroni,  p.  8;  Cabassutius,  1.  v.,  c.  10,  n.  0,  torn,  ii., 
p.  171. 


THE  QUESTION  OF  CENSURES.  115 


declaration,  an  official  announcement  to  the  public 
that  the  delinquent  named  has  already  brought  upon 
himself  the  penalty  imposed. ^  In  no  manner  does 
the  validity  of  the  censure  or  its  binding  force,  in 
conscience,  depend  on  this  declaratory  sentence.^ 

Censures  ferendce  sententice  are  promulgated, 
not  as  operative  on  the  commission  of  the  prohib- 
ited act,  but  as  threats,  and  as  involving  liability 
to  such  penalties,  after  due  process  against  the 
offender  by  the  superior,  who  thus  gives  effective 
force,  through  a  judicial  sentence,  to  the  menace 
accompanying  the  command.^ 

As  to  censures  a  jure^  being  attached  to  laws 
which  are  presumed  to  be  just,  there  can  be  no  ques- 
tion of  injustice ;  it  is  only  in  censures  ab  homine  that 
the  distinction  is  necessary  between /ws^  and  unjust. 

That  a  censure  ah  homme  may  be  considered 
just  and  valid,  the  following  conditions  are 
required :  jurisdiction,  a  legitimate  motive,  a  cause 
sufficiently  proved,  and  a  right  and  lawful  order 
of  procedure.  Lacking  either  of  these  which  are 
not  substantial  (as  a  legitimate  motive  or  the  acci- 
dentals of  right  order),  the  censure  is  valid  before 
the  Church,  but  unjust.    Lacking  any  of  the  con- 

1  For  details,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Schmalzgrueber,  pars 
iv.,  t.  39,  de  Sent.  Exc.,  torn,  xi.,  p.  388,  n.  11 ;  Vecchiotti,  torn, 
ii.  p.  334;  Cuniliati,  ii.353,  and  canonists  generally. 

2  Even  were  the  sentence  otherwise  null,  its  nullity  would 
affect  only  the  public  consequences  of  the  censure.  Stremler, 
prem.  p.,  s.  iv.,  c.  9,  p.  213. 

8  Stremler,  prem.  p.,  s.  iv.,  chap.  2,  p.  177,  and  others. 


IIG    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


ditioiis  that  are  substantial  (as  jmisdiction,  a  cause 
sufficiently  proved,  or  the  essentials  of  right  order), 
such  censures  are  invalid  as  well  as  unjust;  and 
this  must,  therefore,  be  said  of  all  fulminated 
either  against  an  innocent  person,  or  without  a7i7/ 
Avarning  or  citation  to  a  delinquent,  or  without 
juridical  proof  of  the  offence.^ 

Thus  a  person  must  be  considered  as  legally 
innocent,  not  only  wdien  in  conscience  he  is  really 
free  from  the  guilt  of  the  alleged  offence,  but 
also  when,  though  really  guilty,  he  is  juridically 
acquitted  or  not  juridically  proved  guilty On 
this  conclusion  there  is  no  dispute  ;  all  canonists 
agree  that  a  censure  uttered  against  such  a  person 
would  be  an  abuse  of  power,  and  of  no  binding 
force.  In  the  case  of  one  really  innocent,  but 
through  untoward  circumstances  and  weight  of 
evidence,  juridicall}^  convicted,  canonists  disagree 
as  to  the  binding  power  of  a  censure  fulminated 
on  such  a  conviction.  The  more  probable  opinion, 
supported  by  eminent  authorities,  holds  that  though 
such  a  censure,  resting  on  a  false  presumption  and 

1  St.  Raymond,  1.  iii.,  t.  33,  s.  8,  p.  403 ;  Van  Espen,  c.  v.,  s. 
1,  3,  torn,  ix.,  pp.  16,  17  ;  and  other  authorities,  as  in  note  3, 
p.  113. 

2  Even  if  the  judge  has  private  or  personal  knowledge  of  the 
guilt  of  the  accused,  a  sentence  based  on  it  alone  would  be  null ; 
the  condemnation  must  rest  on  information  oflBcially  recognized 
and  juridically  admitted  and  proved.  This  holds  for  censures 
in  general ;  our  discussion  does  not  touch  the  disputed  question 
as  to  ordinary  judicial  proceedings,  nor  do  we  include  suspen- 
sion ex  injunnata  conscientia. 


THE  QUESTIOX  OF  CENSURES. 


117 


on  error,  would  be  invalid  in  conscience,  yet  out 
of  respect  for  the  atitliority  of  the  Church,  and  to 
avoid  scandal,  the  one  thus  unjustly  censured 
should  pay  external  respect  to  the  censure,  until 
it  is  withdrawn  or  its  invalidity  is  made  evident. ^ 

Canonists  also  hold  that  a  censure  notoriously  wn- 
just  is  invalid,^  as  are  likewise  those  promulgated 
against  the  will  of  the  superior,^  or  for  alleged 
disobedience  in  maintaining  a  privilege,*  or  which 
contain  an  intolerable  error,  —  as  when  something 
unlawful  01  impossible  is  commanded,  or  something 
good  in  itself  is  forbidden.^ 

Having  stated  these  principles  which  must  be 
otir  guides,  it  remains  to  consider  what  should  be 
the  conduct  of  one  of  the  faithful  who  has  been 
subjected  to  the  penalty  of  an  excommunication. 

1  Innocent  IV.,  loc.  cit.,  cap.  DrAet  a  tJounuUis,  and  cap.  Per 
super.,  p.  clix;  Keiffenstuel,  tit.  39,  t.  v.,  p.  388;  Zitelli,  cap.  v., 
art..  1,  p.  50-5  ;  Billuart,  de  Censuris,  1).  i,,  a.  5,  torn,  ix.,  p.  489. 
The  reader  will  find  Schmalzgrueber  (pars  iv.,  t.  39,  de  Sent. 
Exc,  torn,  ix.,  pp.  412,  413,  n.  80-83)  very  clear  on  these  points. 
St.  Augustine  (in  his  sermon  351,  on  the  utility  of  doing 
penance)  has  a  beautiful  passage  embodying  this  teaching,  and 
entreating  the  accused  to  submit  in  humility  and  patience, 
though  reprobating  condemnation  that  is  imposed  outside  the 
law  and  order  of  the  Church.  (Tom.  v.,  altera  pars,  pp. 
154.3-(>,  cap.  iv.,  Nos.  9  and  10.  Tom.  xxxix.  of  Patrology.) 
Panormitanus,  c.  vi.,  torn,  vii..  Ill;  Prieras,  i.  .356. 

^  Prieras,  loc.  cit. 

*  Panormitanus,  viii.,  180 ;  Fagnanus,  cap.  Responso,  98,  115, 
torn,  iv.,  195;  St.  Antoninus,  c.  73,  n.  11,  p.  382  (2). 

5  Sandaeus,  c.  xl.,  Per  tuns,  ii.  1213;  St.  Antoninus,  c.  73,  n. 
8,  p.  382  (1);  Prieras,  i.  358;  Schmalzgruebev,  pars  iv.,  t.  39, 
tom.  xi.,  420,  n.  115;  Bucceroni,  p.  13. 


118    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


Unless  the  sentence  is  revoked  by  a  qualified  power, 
there  is  only  one  way  of  release  from  the  bonds  of 
^  a  censure  really  incurred,  and  that  is  through  the 
absolution  granted  by  competent  autliority,  which, 
in  the  case  of  a  censure  ab  liomine^  by  the  Pojoe, 
means  only  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  or  one  especially 
delegated  by  him  for  this  purpose.  Neither  the 
amendment  nor  the  death  of  the  delinquent  can 
raise  the  ban.  The  contrary  proposition  was 
formally  condemned  by  the  Holy  See.^  Only  the 
power  of  the  Keys,  by  which  the  bond  is  formed, 
can  break  it.  If  one  is  bound  hy  different  censures, 
the  absolution  must  express  the  cause  of  these. 
As  a  reparation  for  the  sake  of  the  people  who 
have  known  the  offence,  the  absolution  and  the 
oath  or  solemn  promise  of  amendment  by  the 
accused  must  be  made  public.  If  absolution  be 
given,  as  it  can  be,  in  danger  of  death  (articulo 
mortis)  by  any  priest,  he  must  exact  from  the 
delinquent  a  promise  of  amendment  and  reparation 
for  the  scandal  given;  and  there  must  be  some 
authentic  announcement  to  this  effect.^ 

1  Decrees  of  March  18,  1666,  and  August  28,  1794. 

2  On  the  subject  of  absolution  from  censures,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  St.  Raymundus,  1.  iii.,  t.  33,  s.  3,  pp.  393,  395;  St. 
Thomas,  In  4  Sent.  D.  xviii.,  q.  2,  a.  5,  and  Sui)plementum,  q. 
xxi.,  a.  4;  q.  xxiv.,  a.  1-3;  Devoti,  1.  iv.,  t.  21,  Leander,  t.  1, 
1).  xi.,  qq.  1  seq.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  77,  78;  Schmalzgrueber,  pars  iv. 
t.  39,  de  Sent.  Exc.  xi.,  423,  n.  107 ;  Ferraris,  art.  vii.,  n.  23,  tom. 
iii.  p.  363;  Zitelli,  cap.  v.,  art.  1,  p.  .505;  Fagnanus,  de  Sent. 
Excom.,  cap.  27,  iv.,  pars  2,  p.  159 ;  Baillj,  de  Censuris,  art.  viii.  ; 
Scavini,  de  Censuris,  n.  82;  St,  Alphonsus,  1.  vii.,  c.  1,  n.  116 


THE  QCESTION  OF  CENSURES.  119 


Regarding  censures  which  are  unjust  or  invalid, 
the  following  principles  are  sound :  An  unjust  but 
valid  censure  binds  in  conscience  and  before  the 
Church,  and  therefore  absolution  must  be  ob- 
tained.^ An  unjust  and  notoriomly  invalid  cen- 
sure binds  neither  before  God  nor  man,  and 
therefore  there  is  no  need  for  absolution.^  A 
sentence  that  is  invalid,  but  whose  invalidity  is 
not  notorious,  does  not  bind  in  conscience,  but, 
according  to  that  law  which  forbids  us  to  give 
scandal,  one  who  is  so  censured  must  imhliely 
hold  himself  as  excommunicated,  until  he  is  ab- 
solved or  until  he  has  sufficiently  demonstrated 
the  nullity  of  the  censure  so  as  to  remove  the 

seq.^  torn.  ii.  pp.  820  seq ;  Leander,  Tr.  ii.  D.  xvii.  passim,  torn, 
iv.,  pp.  203  seq. ;  Bonacina,  de  Censuris,  D.  i.,  q.  3,  p.  1,  torn.  i.  301 
seq. ;  and  canonists  generally.  Some  authors  contend  that  the 
delinquent  must,  as  a  necessary  condition,  ask  to  be  absolved, 
but  the  more  probable  opinion  follows  the  Angelic  Doctor  who 
teaches  (loc.  cit.)  that  as  excommunication  is  a  penalty,  not 
depending  on  our  will  alone,  as  does  sin,  absolution  from  the 
'former  may  be  given  even  to  an  unwilling  person,  but  it  must 
be  given,  in  order  to  free  him.  On  this  latter  point  there  is  no 
dissenting  canonist  or  theologian.  As  to  the  obligation  under 
which  one  censured  lies  of  seeking  freedom  from  his  bond  and 
sin  by  restoration  to  grace  and  communion,  see  Patuzzi,  Tr.  x., 
c.  0,  con.  4,  de  Sacramentis,  tom.  vi,,  325 ;  St.  Alphonsus,  1.  vii., 
c.  1,  n.  130,  tom.  ii.  823;  Craisson,  tom.  iv.,  lib.  iii.,  c.  2,  s.  8,-n. 
6438,  p.  330. 

1  St.  Antoninus,  c.  73,  n.  G,  p.  382  (primo) ;  St.  Kaymundus, 
1.  iii.,  t.  33,  s.  8,  p.  402;  Fagnanus,  de  Sent.  Excom.,  cap.  Per 
titas,  n.  11,  tom.  iv.,  175  (2),  and  authorities  generally. 

'■^  St.  Kaymundus,  loc.  cit.;  canonists  and  theologians  cited 
in  note  2,  p.  118. 


120    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


danger  of  scandal,  and  to  refute  the  charge  of 
acting  in  disrespect  to  authority.^ 

1  Gelasius,  causa  xii.,  q.  3,  c.4G  (torn,  lix.,  p.  150  of  Patro- 
logy;  and  pp.  102-110,  tie  Anatliematis  Vinculo);  St.  Antoni- 
nus, cap.  73,  n.  12,  p.  382  (secundo) ;  De  Palude,  D.  xviii.,  q.  i., 
a.  3  (three  authorities  cited  by  Savonarola ;  see  his  letter, 
page  153,  in  which  I  have  corrected  some  mistakes  in  Quetif's 
version) ;  Innocent  IV.,  1.  v.,  p.  cxlix,  cap.  Cam  voluntate ;  Reif- 
fenstuel,  tit.  39,  n.  42,  torn,  v.,  388 ;  Schmalzgrueber,  pars  iv., 
t.  39,  de  Sent.  Exc.  xi.,  412,  413,  n.  80-83;  Salzano,  c.  viii.,  n.  12. 
p.  272 ;  Leander,  t.  L,  D.  x.,  q.  31,  tom.  iv.,  p.  74 ;  Lacroix,  1.  vii., 
c.  4,  n.  84,  tom.  ii.,  437 ;  Bailly,  de  Censuris,  art.  7  ;  Cuniliati,  ii., 
358,  359 ;  Billuart,  de  Censuris,  D.  i.,  a.  v.,  torn,  ix.,  489  seq .  ; 
Concina  (Theologia),  1.  iii.,  D.  1,  c.  5,  tom.  x.,  p.  263.  The  oft- 
repeated  sentiment  of  St.  Gregory  :  "The  sentence  of  the  Pastor, 
whether  just  or  unjust,  must  be  feared,"  Concina  and  other 
authorities  quote.  They  conclude  tliat  the  Holy  Pope  is  to  be 
understood  simply  in  the  sense  that  the  subject  must  respect 
authority,  nor  should  he  rashly  or  proudly  contemn  it,  even 
when  it  is  unjustly  exercised.  And  this  last-named  canonist 
adduces  the  w^ords  of  St.  Augustine,  to  which  Savonarola  had 
appealed :  "  What  matters  it  if  a  defiled  conscience  does  not 
blot  me  out  from  the  Book  of  Life?  "  and  St.  Jerome :  "  Before 
the  Judgment,  inquiry  will  be  made,  not  according  to  the  sen- 
tence of  priests,  but  according  to  the  manner  of  our  lives." 

We  also  deem  it  well  to  refer  to  the  great  Bishop  of  Hippo 
(de  Vera  Religione,  c.  6,  n.  11 ;  torn,  iii.,  pars  prior,  p.  128 
(xxxiv.  of  Patrology)),  who  writes  that,  though  examples  are 
rare,  they  are  more  frequent  than  might  be  believed,  of  unjust 
and  invalid  exclusion  from  the  Church  of  God.  But  the  holy 
Doctor  exhorts  the  persecuted  one  to  patience,  and  adds  that 
God,  who  sees  in  secret,  will  reward  him,  even  while  under  the 
ban,  for  such  trials  work  for  the  greater  good  of  souls. 

And  that  St.  Gregory  intended  only  this  is  evident  from  his 
own  words  in  the  same  Homily  (26th  on  the  Gospels,  n.  5  and  6, 
pp.  1200, 1201,  tom.  ii.,  of  Patrology,  Ixvi.) :  "The  case  must  be 
examined,  before  the  powder  of  binding  and  loosing  is  exercised, 
for  then  only  is  the  absolution  of  the  prelate  true,  when  it  fol- 
lows the  judgment  of  the  Eternal  Judge.    The  prelate  deprives 


THE  QUESTION  OF  CENSURES. 


121 


We  have  said  he  must  publicly  hold  himself 
as  excommunicated,  because,  privately  and  in  the 
presence  of  those  who  know  his  innocence,  he  may 
continue  to  act  according  to  his  rights  and  privi- 
leges, be  they  peculiar  to  the  clergy  or  laity.^ 

There  remains  one  more  point  for  consideration. 
We  shall  dismiss  it  with  a  few  words.  With  a 
person  who  has  been  declared  excommunicated, 
and  denounced  as  one  to  be  avoided,  it  is  not 
lawful  for  the  faithful  to  hold  religious  commun- 
ion before  absolution  has  been  granted  or  suf- 
ficient proof  has  been  given  that .  the  censure 
inflicted  was  invalid.  In  the  former  case,  the 
fact  of  absolution  may  be  attested  by  general  re- 
port, or  on  the  evidence  of  even  one  witness  who 
is  reliable.  Indeed,  the  statement  by  the  accused 
himself  that  he  has  been  freed  from  the  censure 
will  justify  the  people  in  holding  communion  with 
such  a  man  if  he  is  of  delicate  conscience,  and 
otherwise  worthy  of  belief.^ 

himself  of  the  power  of  binding  and  loosing  (that  is,  God  does 
not  ratify  his  act)  when  he  exercises  it  merely  after  his  own 
will,  or  througli  favor  or  hatred,  and  not  for  the  rights  of  his 
subjects,  binding  the  worthy,  and  loosing  the  undeserving, 
'  killing  souls  which  should  not  die,  and  saving  souls  alive  which 
should  not  live,'  as  saith  the  Prophet  Ezechiel "  (xiii.  19). 

1  Billuart,  de  Censuris,  loc.  cit. ;  Cuniliati,  Tr.  xv.,  c.  1,  s.  G, 
ii.,  358,  359 ;  Cabassutius,  1.  v.,  c.  10,  n.  12,  p.  173.  There  is 
only  one  authority  (Navarre)  against  this  common  opinion  of 
canonists  and  theologians. 

2  St.  Alphonsus,  1.  vii.,  c.  1,  n.  140,  tom.  ii.,  p.  828,  who  quotes 
in  support  of  his  ruling  Lacroix,  Navarre,  and  other  eminent 
authors. 


122    WAS  SA]  ONAROLA  EXCOMMUNlCATEDf 


From  this  teaching  it  is  evident  that  the  con- 
dition of  one  who  has  been  invalidly  excom- 
municated opens  even  an  easier  way  to  a  just 
recognition  of  liis  freedom  from  censure,  by  the 
faithful,  to  whom  the  true  state  of  the  case  has 
been  made  known.  Once  the  facts  have  been 
established,  such  a  person  is  in  possession  of  all 
his  rights  as  a  Cliristian  in  full  communion  with 
the  Church. 


DID  THE  FRIAR  INCUR  THE  CENSURE?  123 


III. 


DID  THE  FRIAR  REALLY  INCUR  THE  CENSURE 
OF  EXCOMMUNICATION? 

"IX  7ITH  the  facts,  as  proved  by  history,  un- 


V  V  derstoocl,  and  having  before  us  the  prin- 
ciples of  canon  hiw  that  must  guide  us  in  our 
judgment  of  the  case,  we  shall  endeavor  to  apply 
these  principles  to  the  admitted  facts,  in  the  hope 
of  finding  a  satisfactory  answer  to  our  inquiry. 
Our  thesis  proceeds  entirely  in  the  spirit  of  dis- 
cussion of  an  open  question.  We  have  no  inten- 
tion to  pass  judgment,  or  to  assume,  even  in  the 
most  remote  way,  to  speak  authoritatively.  A  deci- 
sion on  such  a  matter  rests  entirely  with  the  Holy 
See,  and  it  is  not  for  us  either  to  intimate  what  the 
action  of  the  Church  might  be,  or  even  to  suggest 
that  the  question  should  be  presented  for  con- 
sideration. We  merely  offer  an  argument  bearing 
on  a  historical  discussion  in  which  points  of  canon 
law  must  be  applied,  and  in  this  we  are  abso- 
lutely in  submission  to  the  mind  and  heart  of 
Holy  Mother  Church. 

That  our  readers  may  approach  the  consideration 
of  this  delicate  problem  in  a  becoming  spirit,  with 
clearness  of  mind  and  calmness  of  judgment,  we 
ask  them  to  dismiss  all  preconceived  thoughts  or 


124    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


convictions  as  to  the  merit  or  demerit  of  the  Friar, 
and  to  concentrate  their  attention  on  the  essential 
facts  which  we  have  faithfully  narrated,  and  on  the 
principles  stated  of  canon  law^  and  theology.  All 
else  is  irrelevant.  What  Savonarola  said  or  did  be- 
fore the  issue  of  the  Brief  of  excommunication,  ex- 
cept as  embodied  in  our  narrative,  has  no  bearing  on 
the  terms  and  conditions  of  this  document,  to 
which  we  must  confine  ourselves.  All  that  he  did 
or  said  subsequently  to  the  issue  of  the  ban  has  no 
bearing  as  to  the  validity  of  the  censure,  which  must 
depend  entirely  on  previous  offences,  and  can  in 
no  manner  be  affected  by  succeeding  acts.  We 
also  ask  our  readers  to  bear  in  mind  that  our  dis- 
cussion is  one  of  law  and  fact,  and  that  in  such 
matters,  neither  faith  nor  morals  being  directly 
involved,  the  pontifical  power,  because  of  false 
information  or  deliberate  deception  imposed  upon 
the  Pope  by  wicked  men,i  or  for  other  reasons,^ 
might  be  exercised  erroneously,  unjustly,  inval- 
idly,  without  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope  being 
questioned. 

It  is  further  necessary  to  recall  the  condition 

1  Sandasus,  de  Sent.  Exc.  cap.  A  nobis,  28,  torn,  ii.,  1189 ;  Fag- 
nanus,  de  Sent.  Exc.  iv.,  164 ;  Benedict  XIV,,  1.  ix.,  cap.  8,  p.  307. 

Speaking  of  the  guiding  power  of  God,  watching  over  the 
Popes,  Cardinal  Newman  adds :  "  In  saying  this,  I  am  far  from 
saying  that  Popes  are  never  in  the  wrong,  and  are  never  to  be 
resisted,  or  that  their  excommunications  always  avail.  I  am 
not  bound  to  defend  the  policy  or  the  acts  of  particular  Popes, 
whether  before  or  after  the  great  revolt  from  their  authority  in 
the  sixteenth  century."  (Letter  to  Duke  of  Norfolk,  pp.  33 
and  34.) 


DID  THE  FRIAR  IXCCR  THE  CSNSURE?  125 


of  the  times  and  place  with  which  we  are  dealing : 
the  fifteenth  century  ;  ^  a  country  entirely  Catho- 
lic, in  which  a  peculiar  combination  of  Church  and 
State  begot  relationships  between  the  spiritual  and 
the  civil  authorities  quite  foreign  to  certain  modern 
notions ;  in  which  a  generous  margin  of  liberty  of 
speech  prevailed  among  preachers  and  people  ;  in 
which  a  familiarity  on  the  part  of  the  latter  with 
ecclesiastical  laws  and  usages  was  quite  general ; 
in  which,  finally,  a  deplorable  laxity  of  discipline 
and  morals  prevailed,  the  history  of  which  appals 
Catholics  living  under  a  saintly  Pope,  ruled  by 
venerable  Bishops,  and  served  by  a  devoted  clergy. 

We  must  transport  ourselves  to  Florence  as  it 
was  more  than  four  hundred  years  ago  ;  we  must 
close  our  eyes  to  the  life  and  times  around  us,  and 
opening  them  wide  on  the  old  life  that  is  long 
dead,  amid  the  scenes  and  among  the  men  and 
the  women  of  Savonarola's  day,  who  were  not 
easily  scandalized  because  the}^  had  been  so  ter- 
ribl}^  scandalized ;  who  were  intimately  acquainted 
with  the  facts  and  circumstances  of  the  Friar's 
case ;  who  loved  and  admired  the  great  preacher, 
from  whose  hands  they  had  received  the  Bread  of 

1  The  words  of  the  English  historian  Freeman,  writing  of  St. 
Thomas  of  Canterbury,  are  applicable  :  "  The  cause  of  diversity 
and  controversy  —  a  diversity  and  controvers}^  most  fatal  to 
historic  truth  —  is  to  be  traced  to  the  unliappy  metliod  of  look- 
ing at  the  men  of  the  twelfth  century  with  the  eyes  of  the  nine- 
teenth." (Historical  Essays,  first  series,  by  Edward  A.  Freeman, 
London,  1871.)  We  warn  our  readers  against  this  tendency  and 
error.  We  are  dealing  with  the  fifteenth  century,  not  with  the 
nineteenth. 


126    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED  f 

Life,  while  an  absentee  Archbishop  left  his  flock 
to  the  care  of  a  Vicar.  The  precise  elate  cannot 
be  ascertained,  but  shortly  after  the  excommunica- 
tion Brief  was  announced,  there  appeared  a  strik- 
ingly pathetic  pleading,  which  Savonarola  called 
the  "  Lamentation  of  the  Spouse  of  Christ  against 
lukewarm  and  false  preachers;  or  an  exhortation 
to  the  faithful  to  pray  to  the  Lord  for  the  renewal 
of  the  Church."  ^  Of  the  unhappy  condition  of 
spiritual  life  then  j)i'evailing,  the  Friar's  picture 
is  not  overdrawn.  We  deem  its  insertion  here 
to  be  appropriate  :  — 

^'To  whom  shall  I  speak,  or  whither  shall  I  turn, 
assailed  as  I  am  on  all  sides  with  rej)roach  and  con- 
tumely? The  watchmen  who  go  round  about  the  city 
have  found  me,  they  have  stricken  and  wounded  me; 
they  who  keep  watch  upon  the  walls  have  taken  my 
cloak  from  me.  The  tails  of  the  venomous  scorpions 
have  fixed  their  stings  in  me.  Wolves  in  the  clothing 
of  sheep  have  deceived  my  flock;  and  foxes  are  leagued 
with  them  by  a  mutual  compact.  The  bleatings  of  the 
sheep,  suspicious  of  deceit,  are  silenced  by  fear.  The  hire- 
lings liave  deserted  the  flock,  or  have  made  a  compact 
with  the  wolves.  The  watch-dog,  faitliful  to  his  master, 
has  revealed  the  enemy  by  his  ceaseless  barking,  and 
all  their  indignation  is  turned  against  him.  And  now 
the  war  is  waged  in  the  light  of  da}^;  and  with  hard- 
set  brows,  battling  in  their  rage,  they  belch  forth  fire, 

1  In  the  supplement  to  Pico's  Life  of  Savonarola,  pp.  381- 
385,  the  original  Latin  is  found,  edited  by  Father  Quetif. 


DID  THE  FRIAR  IXCCR  THE  CEXSTRE?  127 


and  witli  dreadful  gnashing  of  teeth  tlieir  foaming 
madness  burns,  and  their  fetid  breath  is  blown  forth 
with  portentous  yawnings.  The  earth  is  torn  up  with 
their  crooked  claws,  and  the  bristling-up  of  their  back 
aiUl  of  their  hair}^  tails  threatens  terrible  things. 

"For  they  have  said :  'Let  us  circumvent  him,  be- 
cause he  is  unprofitable  to  us,  and  opposed  to  our 
works,  and  he  reproaches  us  with  our  crimes  against 
the  law,  and  speaks  evil  against  the  sins  of  our  way 
of  life.  lie  is  burdensome  to  us  even  to  behold, 
because  his  life  is  unlike  other  men's!  For  by  the 
envy  of  the  devil  death  entered  into  the  world.  But 
those  who  are  on  his  side  do  like  as  he.' 

But  whilst  they  are  striving  to  do  him  greater  hurt, 
they  strike  against  the  solid  rock  in  which  lie  lies  hidden 
in  security,  and  their  rebounding  darts  are  flung  back 
against  themselves.  But  what  evil  spirit  has  sown 
conflicting  purposes  among  the  ranks  of  brethren  once 
inseparable?  Who  has  nourished  hatred?  Is  Christ 
divided  among  you?  Is  He  the  God  of  dissension  and 
not  of  peace?  Who  has  taught  a  new  and  adulterous 
generation  to  lie  in  wait  for  the  favor  of  princes,  to 
solicit  the  rich  with  tickling  of  the  ears  (flattery),  to 
go  round  about  the  streets  and  squares,  to  deceive  the 
souls  of  silly  women  and  of  the  simple-minded,  to 
calumniate  good  works  out  of  envy? 

Is  this  what  we  learn  from  the  example  of  our  an- 
cestors? Does  our  holy  calling  countenance  such 
deeds  as  these?  Does  your  state  and  profession,  does 
the  humility  that  appears  in  youv  inclined  shoulders, 
does  that  outward  show  of  sanctity  portend  such  con- 
duct?    Should  you  not  rather  have  stretched  forth 


128    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED^ 


helpful  liands  to  gain  Christ  crucified;  to  gain  Him  for 
3'oiirselves,  and  also  to  plant  Him  in  the  hearts  of  men, 
—  Christ,  whom  only  the  pious  watcher  and  the  devout 
multitude  proclaim  together;  whom  they  follow;  whose 
steps  they  trace  to  imitate  Him?  Do  the  ways  of  men 
and  these  fatal  times  call  for  approval  and  applause, 
that  the  truth  may  lurk  in  hiding  and  be  utterly 
trodden  down? 

"  Of  course  I  am  not  ignorant  that  there  are  many 
good  men  in  every  Order;  but  violence  is  done  them 
lest  they^  should  know  the  truth;  or  else,  overwhelmed 
by  the  lukewarm,  they  are  forced  to  be  silent.  '  How 
long  wilt  Thou  be  mindful  of  us  unto  the  end? ' 

'^Yea,  rather:  'Arise,  and  have  mercy  on  Sion;  for 
it  is  time  to  have  mercy  on  her,  for  the  time  has  come.' 
But  do  you,  '  generation  of  vipers '  and,  as  the 
Lord  saith,  '  like  unto  whited  sepulchres,  which 
without,  indeed,  seem  to  men  beautiful,  but  within  are 
full  of  dead  men's  bones  and  of  all  uncleanness,'  blush 
at  least  at  jomv  own  consciences,  which  cry  out  against 
you  with  us,  and  restrain  your  virulent  tongues.  Be 
ashamed  of  your  rivalries,  dissensions,  and  discords, 
which  can  no  longer  be  disguised  nor  hidden.  Behold, 
I  pray  you,  the  fruits  of  the  meek  flock,  and  the  good 
works  which  are  forced  upon  your  eyes  like  a  wall, 
flung  against  them  like  brazen  battering-rams.  Behold 
the  men  of  kindly  heart,  humble,  tranquil,  joyful  even 
in  adversity,  of  one  mind,  sober,  chaste,  modest,  fre- 
quent at  the  Divine  worship  and  at  the  Sacraments, 
constant  in  deeds  of  charity. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  look  at  your  own  fellows  and  your 
followers,  who  are  set  against  the  truth  and  the  faithful 


DID  THE  FRIAR  INCUR  THE  CENSURE?  129 


watch-dog  of  Christ;  behold  them,  proud,  ambitious, 
greedy  of  gain,  adulterers,  gluttons,  and  idlers;  and 
worse  than  all  these  are  they  who,  forgetful  of  their 
profession,  secret  apostates  in  sheep's  clothing,  lie 
rotting  in  malice  and  ambition.  Look,  then,  and  see 
at  last,  if  only  a  voice  may  prevail  to  pierce  the  hard- 
ened ears  of  the  asps. 

But  come,  ye  good  priests  and  religious,  and  also  ye 
good  secular  people,  of  whom  I  know  there  is  every- 
where a  great  multitude,^  'Pray  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest  that  He  send  good  laborers  into  His  field;  ' 
yea,  that  He  winnow  His  corn  and  cleanse  it  and  sepa- 
rate the  husks  and  burn  the  cockle;  for  the  days  are 
near  and  they  are  rapidly  coming  on,  when  my  Beloved 
will  reveal  his  Arm,  to  execute  judgment  and  mercy 
on  the  earth.  Lift  up  yowv  heads  and  see  that  the 
summer  is  nigh  and  the  harvest  is  whitening. 

Therefore  my  little  cliildren,  my  \oy  and  my  crown, 
looking  for  the  blessed  hope,  for  the  sake  of  all  the 
faitliful  and  of  even  these  your  adversaries,  do  ye  ever 
implore  Him  whom  my  soul  loveth,  that  He  quickly 
return  to  me. 

Come,  come,  my  Beloved,  for  I  languish  with  love, 
that  I  may  repose  with  Thee  in  the  midday,  and  my 
soul  ma}^  find  rest  in  t\\j  bosom. 

Who  livest  and  reignest  unto  ages  of  ages.  Amen." 

1  Here  and  in  the  third  preceding  paragraph,  not  to  men- 
tion other  portions  of  the  Friar's  writings,  we  find  a  refutation, 
in  his  orcn  icords,  of  Pastor's  wliolesale  condemnation  :  "  He  (Sa- 
vonarola) overlooked,  in  his  passionate  indignation,  the  immense 
amount  of  good  wliicli  remained,  and  seehu/  ouli/  the  evil,"  etc. 
(History  of  the  Topes,  vol.  v.,  p.  18-'],  Eng.  trans.) 

9 


130    WAS  SAVOXAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


Realizing,  in  a  manner,  the  condition  of  affairs 
to  which  Ave  have  adverted,  our  readers  will 
have  an  intelligent  understanding  of  a  distant 
prospect  that  otherwise  must  mean  confusion  con- 
founded. 

Having  thus  placed  before  them  the  facts  of 
history  and  the  principles  of  canon  law,  they  will 
be  fully  prepared  to  hear  our  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion :  Did  Savonarola  really  incur  the  censure  of 
excommunication  ? 

The  situation,  sad  and  delicate,  in  which  Sa- 
vonarola found  himself  on  the  publication  of  the 
Brief  of  May  13,  1497,  is  probably  unique  in  the 
history  of  the  Church. ^  But  we  believe  that  he 
conducted  himself  according  to  the  rules  which 
saintly  and  learned  men  had  drawn,  and  according 
to  principles  which  are  higher  than  personal  sanc- 
tity or  science,  namely,  those  of  right  and  law ;  and 
that,  in  following  the  accepted  authorities  of  his 
time,  names  still  famous  and  venerable,  he  did 
not  err. 

Let  us  briefly  summarize.  Having,  during  an 
apostolate  of  extraordinary  zeal  and  unsparing 
labor,  wrought  a  great  change  in  the  spiritual  life 
of  Florence,  the  contradictions  and  persecutions  of 
which  St.  Paul  speaks  arose  against  the  Friar. 
Powerful  influences  set  to  work  to  have  him  re- 
moved from  Florence,  unscrupulous  maligners  car- 
rying their  deception  even  into  the  Pope's  palace, 

1  Bayoune,  p.  110. 


DID  THE  FRIAR  INCUR  TUB  CENSURE?  l3l 


persuading  Alexander  that  Savonarola's  doctrine 
was  pernicious,  that  he  disturbed  the  State,  that  he 
was  insulting  to  the  Holy  See.  They  hoped,  hav- 
ing induced  Alexander  to  call  the  Friar  to  Rome, 
to  kill  him  on  the  wa}'  and  this  was  well  known 
to  Savonarola,  through  his  friends.  Failing,  they 
had  his  preaching  in  Florence  interdicted,  and 
an  inquiry  made  into  his  false  doctrine  "  by  an 
Apostolic  Commission.  Then  came  the  reunion 
with  Lombardy,  next  the  letter  of  the  Pope,  in 
which  the  Friar's  doctrine  was  denounced  as  per- 
nicious, though  Alexander  had  before  praised  his 
preaching;  and  finally  the  Tusco-Roman  scheme, 
by  which  the  irregular  were  to  be  mixed  up  with 
the  fervent,  the  latter  to  be  scattered  about  as  a 
leaven  among  the  disorderly  friars.  This  scheme 
Savonarola  held  to  be  against  charity,  nor  would 
he  approve,  though  he  submitted  to,  the  new 
law.  Having  been  stigmatized  as  a  son  of  perdi- 
tion, and  declared  excommunicated,  he  kept  silent 
for  six  months,  so  far  as  preaching  or  publicly 
celebrating  jNIass  was  concerned.  Meanwhile  he 
tried  to  defend  himself,  showino-  the  evil  work  of 
enemies,  who  only  raged  the  more.  They  claimed 
that  his  silence  was  the  result  of  human  fear,  not 
of  piety;  and  as  vice  grew  and  flourished,  Savo- 
narola determined  to  prove  to  them,  not  only  how 
little  fear  he  knew,  but  how  truly  from  piety  he 
had  acted ;  and  this  witli  danger  to  his  life,  as  the 
event   proved.     During  the  whole  contest  the 


132    WAS  SAVOXAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 

Friar,  with  much  moderation  and  prudence,  charged 
that  the  wicked  men  who  misinformed  Alexander 
were  the  cause  of  all  the  trouble,  and  on  them  he 
threw  all  blame. 

In  the  Brief  of  JVIay  13,  1497,  addressed  to  vari- 
ous bodies,  of  none  of  which  was  Savonarola  a 
member,  we  have  the  first  evidence  of  the  official 
announcement  that  he  had  incurred  the  penalty 
threatened  by  the  Pope  against  all  who  would 
oppose  his  commands  and  regulations,  as  pro- 
mulgated on  November  7,  1496.  Thus,  without 
warning,  without  citation  of  the  accused,  without 
proof  of  the  offence,^  by  a  document  irregularly 
published,  Savonarola  was  denounced  as  "  a  son  of 
perdition "  and  declared  excommunicate,  on  the 
following  grounds :  because  "  he  preached  perni- 
cious doctrine,  to  the  scandal  and  loss  of  souls  ;  "  he 
refused  to  go  to  Rome,  when  summoned  by  the 
Pope ;  he  declined  to  imite  St.  Mark's  Convent 
with  the  newly  formed  Tusco-Roman  Congregation. 

From  the  terms  of  this  Brief  it  is  plain  that 
Alexander  did  not,  by  it,  inflict  any  censure  on 
Savonarola ;  he  simply  announced  to  Florence  and 
the  general  public  that  Savonarola,  because  of  the 
alleged  offences,  was  excommunicated ;  and  as 
such  he  was  solemnly  branded  for  having  violated 
the  pontifical  decree  of  November  7,  1496.  No 
other  papal  documents  have  been  discovered,  nor 
do  contemporary  writers  or  subsequent  historians 

1  See  pages  113,  114. 


DID  THE  FRIAR  IXCUR  THE  CENSURE?  133 


refer  to  any  other  Briefs  bearing  on  the  case. 
There  was  no  Bull  of  excommunication  issued 
against  him,  either  of  inflictive  or  declaratory 
sentence.  There  was  no  process,  proof,  or  judg- 
ment, according  to  canonical  requirements.^  There 
was  no  sentence  of  any  kind.  The  letter  to  the 
Florentine  communities,  commonly  known  as  the 
Brief  of  excommunication,  was  simpl}'  a  command 
by  the  Pontiff  to  proclaim  as  excommunicated 
one  who  had  been  represented  to  Alexander  as 
haying  incurred  the  censure  promulgated  by  him 
on  November  7,  1496.  On  this  false  information 
the  Pope  was  induced  to  authorize  an  order  giving 
to  such  alleged  fact  publicity,  and  declaring  that 
the  censure  said  to  have  been  incurred  had  public 
binding  force.  As  we  have  already  seen,  it  is 
probable  that  this  Brief  was  subsequently  issued 
against  the  intention  and  will  of  Alexander.  In 
an  age  of  forgeries,  when  even  papal  documents 
were  not  always  free  from  the  terrible  taint,^  and 
under  the  peculiar  circumstances  with  which  this 
document  was  smuggled  into  Florence,  while  its 
accredited  bearer,  the  bitter  ejiemy  of  the  vener- 
able man  whom  it  stigmatized  as  a  son  of  perdition, 
failed  to  discharge  his  canonical  duty,  the  people, 
following  many  of  the  clergy,  were  justified  in 
doubting  it  and  regarding  it  as  of  questionable 
authenticity.  Thus,  as  Xardi,  an  eye-witness,  tells 
us,  the  Brief  was  puljlislied  only  in  the  churches 
1  See  page  11(5.  ^  t^^p  page  80,  note  2. 


134    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


of  those  Avlio  were  inimical  to  St.  Mark's  by  ene- 
mies of  the  Friar  for  their  own  base  purposes. ^ 

Let  us  examine  the  Brief  in  detail.  Grave 
objections  may  be  brought  against  it,  as  desti- 
tute of  canonical  requirements  safeguarding  the 
rights  of  the  members  of  Christ's  Mystical  Body, 
but  we  have  no  desire  to  press  them  unduly.  We 
desire  only  to  set  in  a  clear  light  the  facts  of 
the  case. 

The  reader  is  reminded  that  to  no  one  of  the 
offences  charged  against  Savonarola  nor  to  all 
combined  was  the  penalty  of  excommunication 
attached  by  law.  Hence  a  simple  declaration  even 
by  the  Pope  that  such  faults  had  been  committed 
by  an  individual  would  not  subject  that  individual 
to  the  penalty  of  excommunication.  To  one  of 
these  offences  2  a  censure  ah  Jiomim  had  been 
attached,  and  in  such  form  that  the  Pope's  an- 
nouncement of  the  fact  of  contumacious  guilt 
would  have  been  sufficient  to  have  designated 
the  sinner  named  as  excommunicated,  provided 
such  declaration  had  been  based  on  truth. 

A  careful  reading  of  the  Brief  will  also  convince 
one  that  no  date  is  assigned  as  indicating  the  time 
when  Savonarola  fell  under  the  ban.    In  what  way 

1  L.  ii.,  p.  64  ;  Quetif,  p.  275. 

2  Kamely,  Savonarola's  alleged  refusal  to  unite  St.  Mark's 
to  the  new  Congregation.  Here  we  designate  the  count  as  it 
is  presented  in  the  Brief ;  but  in  the  succeeding  text  we  shall 
duly  note  a  grave  discrepancy,  showing  that  this  olfence  was 
impossible. 


DID  THE  FRIAR  INCUR  THE  C ENSURE  ?  135 


he  incurred  the  censure  is  not  precisely  stated,  nor 
is  the  vagueness  relieved  by  the  recitation  of  the 
charges,  covering,  as  they  do,  a  period  of  almost 
sixteen  months,  and  embracing  some  counts  to 
which  no  penalty  of  censure  had  been  attached  by 
the  Pope.  And  this  indefiniteness,  this  lack  of  par- 
ticulars stands  to-day  as  it  did  in  the  Friar's  hour 
of  humiliation,  of  trial,  of  condemnation.  History 
has  revealed  no  fact,  document,  or  point  of  law 
that  can  add  one  iota  of  proof  against  him. 

The  first  indictment  is  that  Savonarola  preached 
pernicious  doctrine  to  the  loss  of  souls.  We 
feel  morally  certain  that  Alexander  VI.  did  not 
dictate  this  cruelly  unjust  and  untruthful  dec- 
laration. It  is  clearly  the  work  of  the  Friar's 
enemies.  Several  times,  previously  and  subse- 
quently to  the  excommunication,  the  Pope  had 
stated  that  he  found  no  fault  with  the  Friar's 
doctrine,^  and  intelligent  readers  of  his  life  and 
works  know  now  that  his  writings  contain  no 
erroneous  doctrine.  The  necessity  of  defending 
the  great  preacher  from  the  accusation  of  being  a 
forerunner  of  Luther,  is  no  longer  urgent.  The 
charge  of  "  pernicious  teaching,  scandalous,  and 
dangerous  to  souls,"  has  no  basis  whatever.  Even 
Avere  the  charge  sustained,  it  is  not  one  that  nec- 
essarily brought  in  its  train  excommunication 
effective  by  the  fact,  and  tlierefore  on  this  count 
Savonarola  could  not  have  been  excommunicated. 

1  Letter  of  March  4,  1497,  in  Glierardi,  194  seq. 


136    WAS  SAVOXAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


The  next  item  is  that  of  disobedience  to  a  papal 
command,  given  on  July  21,  1495,  requiring  Sa- 
vonarola to  proceed  to  Rome,  to  which  command, 
as  imposed  under  the  obligation  of  obedience  only, 
no  censure  had  been  attached,  and  through  which, 
therefore,  no  censure  could  be  incurred,  even  had 
such  command  been  disobeyed.  Furthermore,  his 
reasonable  excuses  had  been  promptly  sent  and 
graciously  accepted  by  the  Pope.^  The  renewal  ^ 
of  the  precept  renewed  the  obligation,  but  under 
the  conditions  expressed  by  the  Pontiff,  and  on 
the  evidence  already  submitted,  it  is  clear  that 
Savonarola's  enemies  rendered  the  fulfilment  of 
Alexander's  conditions  impossible.  That  a  jour- 
ney to  Rome  by  the  Friar  "in  honor  and  safety" 
Avas  not  subsequently  in  his  power  is  beyond  con- 
tradiction. We  reject,  not  only  as  abhorrent,  but 
as  utterly  without  proof,  tiie  view  of  those  who 
claim  that  the  Pope  had  ordered  Savonarola  to 
Rome,  that  he  might  be  killed,  either  there  or  on 
the  way.  As  to  his  resumption  of "  preaching  in 
the  Lent  of  1496,  we  have  given  the  authorities 
proving  his  obedience  and  submission  to  the  Holy 
See.3 

1  See  Brief  of  October  16,  1495,  His  Holiness  repeated  this 
fact  in  the  Brief  of  May  13,  1497. 

2  By  Brief  of  October  10,  1495. 

3  See  note  on  page  52.  Consult  also  Appendix  :  "  The  Ques- 
tion of  Obedience." 

After  recounting  the  plots  and  slanders  of  the  enemies  of 
Savonarola  to  effect  his  excommunication  Pico  della  Miran- 


DID  THE  FRIAR  INCUR  THE  CENSURE?  137 


The  charge  of  hindering  the  union  of  St.  ^Mark's 
with  the  newly  devised  Tusco-Roman  province 
alone  remains,  and  if  this  point  can  be  settled  in 
favor  of  the  Friar,  the  difficulties  of  the  case,  so 
far  as  the  validity  of  the  censure  is  concerned,  dis- 
appear. The  Brief  of  excommunication  issued 
May  13,  1497,  declares  that,  Savonarola  having 
persisted  in  the  course  of  action  which  he  had  pre- 
viously followed,  the  Pope,  ''therefore,  in  a  sec- 

dola  writes :  "  For  myself,  having:  learned  of  the  excommuni- 
cation, I  could  scarcely  believe  that  from  so  celebrated  a  place 
such  a  sentence  would  be  fulminated  against  a  man  whom  I 
know  to  be  enriched  with  learning,  and  adorned  with  all  virtues, 
and  especially  obedience  (obedientissimus),  without  at  least  the 
appearance  of  truth  to  support  it."  (Quetif,  p.  32.)  And  this 
was  the  opinion  of  the  learned  and  the  virtuous  of  the  time. 
Against  them  were  the  Arrahhiati,  the  Compagnacci,  the  Medici, 
and  all  the  enemies  of  good  government,  personal  morality,  and 
public  decency.  And  as,  according  to  an  established  canon,  the 
opinion  and  judgment  of  the  virtuous  in  such  matters  should 
be  preferred  to  that  of  the  wicked,  it  is  easy  to  decide  as  to  the 
character  and  importance  of  Savonarola's  supporters  and  op- 
ponents. Tor  other  contemporary  testimony  to  his  obedience, 
see  Scelta,  p.  3.  To  the  words  of  Pico  we  add  an  apposite  re- 
flection of  the  scholarly  Luotto  :  "  When  I  recall  by  what  hypoc- 
risy, calumny,  fraud,  Alexander  was  induced  to  sign  sucli  a  Brief, 
1  can  believe  without  further  evidence  all  that  Pastor  and 
others  tell  us  of  the  wickedness  of  the  Renaissance  period. 
And  I  can  better  understand  how  the  worst  in  Machiavelli  could 
be  the  product  of  such  an  age.  Some  might  feel  surprised  that 
the  Faith  did  not  utterly  decline.  I  always  prefer  to  remem- 
ber that  the  Church  is  a  Divine  institution,  and  that  the  i)ower 
and  dignity  of  the  papacy  are  impersonal.  I  understand  more 
clearly  than  ever  why  God  has  not  permitted  the  action  of  men 
to  have  power  over  His  Vicar  in  matters  of  dogma  and  Chris- 
tian morals"  (p.  528). 


138    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


Olid  letter  of  November  7,  149G,  commanded  that 
ill  virtue  of  holy  obedience  and  nnder  pain  of  ex- 
communication latce  sententice,  to  be  incurred  ijjso 
facto,  he  should  unite  the  Convent  of  St.  Mark 
with  the  Tusco-Roman  Congregation  recently 
formed  and  erected  by  us/'  ^ 

These  words  would  indicate  that  the  Pontiff's 
motive  was  to  punish  Savonarola,  to  inflict  a 
penalty  on  him  because  of  alleged  disobedience, 
by  forcing  him  into  a  condition  of  life  repugnant 
to  the  strict  and  reformed  observance  he  then 
followed.  However,  let  us  compare  the  terms  of 
command,  as  expressed  in  the  Brief  of  excommuni- 
tion.  May  13,  1497,  with  the  definite  and  precise 
words  of  the  Brief  of  precept,  November  7,  1496. 
As  penal  and  odious  things,  by  an  axiom  of  theol- 
ogy, are  to  be  rigorously  interpreted,  we  shall 
confine  ourselves  to  the  decisive  clause  of  the 
Brief  of  precept,  taken  in  its  strict  and  legal  sense, 
for  on  the  proper  understanding  of  this  clause  we 
must  consider  the  excommunication.  The  words 
of  the  Pope  are :  "  Moreover  we  wish,  and  by  the 
tenor  of  this  present  letter  strictly  commanding, 
in  virtue  of  holy  obedience  and  under  penalty  of 
excommunication  latoe  sente7itice,  we  forbid  each  and 
every  one,  of  whatsoever  condition,  state,  dignity, 
or  grade,  to  contradict  this  letter,  in  any  way, 
either  themselves  or  through  others,  directly  or 
indirectly,  on  any  assumed  title  or  color,  or  to 
1  See  Brief  of  May  13,  1497, 


DID  THE  FRIAR  INCUR  THE  CENSURE?  139 


dare  or  presume  to  place  any  impediment  in  the 
way  of  its  fulfilment."  ^ 

The  distinction  between  the  two  sentences  which 
we  have  quoted  respectively  from  the  Briefs  of 
May  13,  1497,  and  November  7,  1496,  is  one  of 
marked  and  important  difference,  especially  in 
view  of  the  penalty  attached.  Savonarola  was  not 
commanded  to  unite  the  Convent  of  St.  Mark  to 
the  new  Congregation.  The  fusion  had  been 
accomplished  by  the  Pope,  whose  power  was  all- 
sufficient,  nor  did  its  exercise  depend,  in  any  man- 
ner, on  the  consent  of  the  Dominican  Order  in  its 
head  or  members.  It  was  needless,  therefore,  and  it 
would  have  been  superfluous  for  the  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff to  have  commanded  a  subordinate  to  do  what 
he  by  his  supreme  power  had  already  effected: 
"  And  by  our  Apostolic  authority  we  decree  that 
liereafter,  for  all  future  time,  the  five  convents 
mentioned,  as  separated  by  us  from  the  said  Con- 
gregation, and  the  other  said  convents  of  the 
Tuscan  and  Roman  Province,  as  well  as  you, 
priors  and  brethren  now  living  in  these  convents, 
are  hy  us  constituted  as  one  Congregation^  to  be 
known  as  the  Tusco-Roman  Province  of  regular 
observance." 

Of  the  charge,  therefore,  as  mentioned  in  the 
Brief  of  excommunication,  ^lay  13,  1497,  of  hav- 
ing- refused  to  unite  St.  Clark's  with  the  new 
province,  Savonarola  was  not  guilty,  because  he 

1  See  tlie  Brief  of  Xoveniber  7,  1496. 


140    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


had  received  no  command  to  tliat  effect  in  the 
Brief  of  precept,  November  7,  1496,  to  which  the 
excommunication  had  been  attached,  and  conse- 
quently he  could  not  have  incurred  a  censure  on 
such  a  ground. 

But  he  was  ordered,  with  all  the  other  members 
of  his  community,  and  with  all  concerned,  that  he 
should  place  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  pontifical 
decree,  and  this  precept  obliged  him  under  pain  of 
excommunication.  If  he  disobeyed  it,  in  any  man- 
ner, directly,  or  indirectly,  he  incurred  the  censure 
and  was  excommunicated.  We  are  now  at  the 
vital  point  of  our  inquiry. 

Remembei'ing  Savonarola  as  a  religious  bound 
by  vows,  many  have  assumed  from  general  prin- 
ciples of  the  spiritual  life  that  he  should  have 
labored  to  remove  all  obstacles,  to  persuade  his 
community  to  submit  to  the  union  without  ap- 
peal. He  had  not  been  commanded  to  do  this, 
and  therefore  by  failing  to  do  it,  no  matter 
how  he  may  seem  to  have  been  wanting  in  the 
perfection  of  religious  obedience,  he  was  not 
disobedient,  nor  did  he  incur  a  censure.  Moreover, 
he  was  entitled  to  his  honest,  intelligent  opinion 
as  to  the  motive,  purpose,  and  feasibility  of '  the 
union ;  and,  knowing  the  facts  as  he  did,  and  hav- 
ing the  instinct  as  well  as  the  experience  of  the 
religious  reformer,  he  could  not  conscientiously 
applaud  the  work  that  had  been  done,  nor  could  he 
urge  others  to  an  opposite  view.     In  allowing  the 


DID  THE  FRIAR  INCUR  THE  CENSURE  ?  141 


respectful  petition  of  the  community  to  be  ad- 
dressed to  the  Pope,  he  simply  abstained  from  in- 
fringing on  their  absolute  right  to  have  recourse  to 
the  Supreme  Pa.stor.  In  a  like  spirit  he  dealt  with 
the  Florentine  people,  many  of  wliom  were  strongly 
and. personally  interested  in  the  ncAv  Congregation, 
because  of  their  friends  and  relatives  who  belonged 
to  the  Community  of  St.  Mark. 

This  attitude  towards  others  he  maintained 
throughout.  He  sought  neither  directly  nor  in- 
directly to  oppose  tlie  Pope's  plan  ;  he  sti'ove  only 
by  prayer  and  just  appeal  to  the  Sovereign  Pontiff, 
to  have  the  acknowledofed  union  rescinded.  We 
say  acknowledged  union,  because  the  Brief  of 
Alexander  had  received  its  most  effectual  recogni- 
tion from  Savonarola,  who,  on  its  receipt,  at  once 
made  known  its  contents  and  obligations  to  the 
community, —  assuredly  an  evidence  of  submission 
and  obedience,  of  a  spirit  absolutely  sincere,  open, 
and  honomble.  On  the  appointment  of  the  Vicar 
for  the  new  province,  Savonarola  at  once  relin- 
quished his  office  as  head  of  St.  Mark's  Congrega- 
tion and  accepted  the  jurisdiction  placed  over  him, 
in  the  same  spirit  in  which  he  had  acknowledged 
the  authority  of  B.  Sebastian  Maggi,  when  St. 
Mark's  Convent  was  attached  to  the  Lombard 
Congregation.  And  in  the  same  spirit  of  esteem 
and  reverence  which  Sebastian  had  manifested  for 
Savonarola,  Father  James  of  Sicily,  the  new  Vicar 
General,  also  held  him,  and  declined  to  transfer 


142    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 

him  from  Florence.  In  fact,  though  no  one  dis- 
obeyed the  Pope,  the  Tusco-Roman  province  was 
never  fully  organized.  All  concerned  knew  the 
situation  as  one  extremely  precarious,  and  those 
in  authority  made  no  changes.^ 

What  was  Savonarola's  attitude  towards  the 
new  Congregation  ?  ^  We  set  aside  the  canonical 
plea  of  intolerable  error,  touching  the  purpose 
under  command,  when  the  fusion  was  accom- 
plished. The  plan  of  union  was  neither  evil  nor 
immoral  in  itself,  nor  may  it  be  asserted  that  it 
was  not  within  the  competence  of  the  Pope  to 
merge  the  various  convents  included  in  the 
scheme.  And  as  there  can  be  no  question  of  the 
possibility  of  fulfilling  Alexander's  commands,  sup- 
posing he  had  desired  their  fulfilment,  we  believe 
that  the  censure  cannot  be  considered  invalid  on 
this  score.  But  it  is  now  evident  that  Savona- 
rola's view  of  the  case  Avas  judicious,  that  there 
was  an  inherent  defect  in  the  papal  command; 
and  history  has  vindicated  the  Friar's  judgment. 
Moreover,  his  inalienable  right  of  conscience,  his 

1  After  Savonarola's  death  the  independence  of  St.  Mark's 
Congregation  was  restored,  and  for  more  than  one  hundred  years 
it  continued  to  be  the  model,  the  nucleus,  the  strength,  and  the 
glory  of  the  entire  Dominican  Order.  (Marchese  :  San  Marco, 
p.  111.)  And  to  the  present  time  it  preserves  its  integrity, 
despite  the  misfortunes  that  have  befallen  religious  life  in 
Italy.  The  actual  Vicar  is  Father  John  Lottini,  who  has  made 
so  just  and  skilful  a  defence  of  his  persecuted  predecessor. 

2  The  reader  will  recur,  with  advantage,  to  our  historical  re- 
view of  the  facts,  and  to  the  chapter  "  Question  of  Censures." 


DID  THE  FRIAR  INCUR  THE  CENSURE?  143 


right  to  pass  judgment,  not  on  his  superior's  com- 
mands, but  on  his  own  conscientious  relationship 
to  them,  must  not  be  impugned.  Xor  can  it  be 
justly  alleged  that  his  maintenance  of  his  opinion, 
his  strong  appeal  in  a  canonical  way  to  the  Sover- 
eign Pontiff,  constituted  opposition  of  a  kind  liable 
to  censure.  Had  he  failed  in  any  respect  that 
would  have  rendered  him  amenable  to  the  penalty, 
his  watchful  enemies  would  have  promptly  noti- 
fied the  fact  to  Alexander.  There  is  no  evidence 
of  any  such  charge  nor  even  of  any  forgery,  from 
which  they  would  not  have  shrunk,  had  it  been 
considered  advisable.  Savonarola  might  well  doubt 
that  the  Pope  had  been  wisely  counselled  in  the 
move ;  he  had  a  right  to  feel  that  the  Vicar  of 
Christ  wotild  not  wish  to  undo  the  work  of  Saints. 
In  his  own  conscience  he  had  a  tribunal  delicate 
and  trustworthy,  and,  enlightened  as  it  was  by  ex- 
perience, by  true  piety  and  great  learning,  he  could 
have  resisted  what  he  believed  to  be  an  infringe- 
ment of  a  sacred  privilege,  namely,  the  opportunity 
of  rigorously  observing  his  Order's  laws  ;  he  could 
justly  have  refused  a  change  which  foreboded  evil, 
loss  of  reputation  and  honor,  as  well  as  other  seri- 
ous injuries  to  himself  and  to  those  whom  he  had 
received  in  religion's  name,  under  certain  solemn 
pledges ;  he  could  have  legally  declined  to  accept 
an  arrangement  inspired  by  the  hatred  of  his 
enemies,  which  threatened  the  peace  of  religion, 
which  indeed  practically  represented  a  dispensa- 


144    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


tion  against  the  greater  good,  a  diminution  of  his 
obligations,  against  his  will,  and  without  present 
advantage  or  probable  future  compensation.'  Ac- 
cordingly he  would  have  been  justified  in  a  posi- 
tive refusal  had  the  matter  been  placed  before 
him  as  a  command.  But  he  had  not  been  allowed 
any  choice ;  he  yielded,  therefore,  and  was  not 
disobedient.  He  waived,  in  practice,  all  the -rights 
conferred  on  him  by  canon  law^  and  chose  the 
highest  standard,  that  of  submission,  —  full,  sin- 
cere ;  and  then  he  appealed.  In  the  meantime, 
while  his  will  was  subordinated,  in  complete 
acceptance  of  a  condition  of  affairs  imposed  upon 
him,  his  conscience,  his  intellect  were  not  able  to 
reject  the  light,  nor  could  he  refuse  to  yield  assent 
to  the  truth  as  he  saw  it.  In  deploring  the  threat- 
ened ruin  of  his  beloved  St.  Mark's, —  a  gloomy 
prospect  unrelieved  by  the  hope  of  reform  among 
the  irregular  to  whom  his  lot  was  joined,  —  he  was 
sustained  by  authorities  and  principles  that  are 
essential  to  the  religious  life.  His  attitude  was 
that  of  sound  piety  and  impressive  edification. 

We  may  describe  his  critical  position  as  one  of 
complete  submission  to  the  Pope  in  all  that  con- 
cerned the-  externals,  as  jurisdiction  and  the  recog- 
nition of  the  nev/ly  formed  province ;  but  in  his 
conscience  he  claimed  the  right  to  be  faithful  to 

1  Consult  Appendix  on  Obedience  ;  Ferraris,  torn,  vii.,  p.  246, 
n.  22. 

^  Compare  conclusions  in  Appendix  on  Obedience. 


DID  THE  FRIAR  INCUR  THE  CENSURE?  145 


his  hig'lier  pledges,  his  \ow  to  lead  a  truly  fervent, 
religious  life ;  and  from  this  principle,  though  the 
Pope  might  disband  the  whole  Order,  he  could  not 
oblige  the  humblest  subject  to  depart. 

Let  the  reader  remember  that  the  Pope's  Brief 
of  November  7, 1496,  dealt  with  no  question  of  the 
universal  discipline  of  the  Church,  nor  with  a  mat- 
ter of  faith  or  morals;  his  action  was  not  ex  cathe- 
dra. The  question  was  one  purely  local  and  partic- 
ular, touching  disciplinary  measures  in  one  portion 
of  a  religious  Order.  Even  had  Savonarola  denied 
the  authority  of  the  Pope  in  this  particular  case, 
had  he  opposed  Alexander's  proceedings,  such  re- 
sistance could  not  have  the  odious  character  that 
is  rightly  attributed  to  opposition  to  a  papal  act  of 
universal  jurisdiction,  or  regarding  a  matter  of  uni- 
versal import  in  the  domain  of  faith  or  morals. 

Thus  far,  as  we  have  seen,  Savonarola  acted  with 
extreme  caution.  An  expert  canonist,^  a  profound 
theologian,  well  advised  by  capable  men,  he  made 
no  slip,  he  kept  his  feet  in  the  path  of  safety,  free 
from  the  entanglements  of  the  ban.  He  did  not 
waver  in  his  steadfast  opinion  as  to  the  unwisdom 
of  the  recent  amalgamation,  but  he  remained  pas- 
sive. No  acts  can  be  alleged  against  him  as  fall- 
ing under  tlie  pontifical  prohibition.  It  cannot  be 
proved  that  he  ridiculed  the  new  Congregation. 

1  Savonarola  was  not  only  learned  in  the  law,  civil  and  ec- 
clesiastical, but  among  his  unpublished  Avritings  are  several 
treatises  on  the  canons,  in  which  his  mastery  of  the  subject  is 
clear.    See  Villari,  i.,  pp.  xxii,  xxiv  ;  and  Luotto,  chapter  xxvi. 

10 


146    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


One  passage  in  a  sermon  ^  in  which  he  referred 
to  the  various  orders  that  liad  been  given,  and  com- 
pared them  to  moves  on  a  chess-board,  has  been 
so  misunderstood.  But  it  must  be  observed  that 
in  this  sermon,  as  always,  he  attributes  all  his 
troubles,  not  to  the  Pope  himself,  but  to  the 
calunuiiators  who  made  the  Pontiff-  the  uncon- 
scious instrument  of  their  perverse  intentions.  In 
this  judgment  we  think  he  was  right.  In  their 
day  they  specified  no  charge  ;  they  did  what  cow- 
ardice and  vindictiveness  have  often  done ;  they 
persistently  slandered,  sweepingly  maligned,  in 
the  hope  that  some  at  least  of  their  defilement 
would  cleave  to  the  object  of  their  hatred.  But 
they  acted  not  wisely,  though  they  extorted  from 
a  harassed  Pontiff  a  declaration  of  whose  falsity 
he  was  not  aware. 

A  strong  light  has  since  been  shed  on  their  dark 
deeds ;  and  history,  walking  under  the  guidance  of 
canon  law,  and  seeking  only  the  truth,  has  made 
manifest  that  Savonarola  was  neither  disobedient 
nor  heretical,  and  that  no  excommunication  lay 
against  him  on  any  of  the  counts  enumerated  in 
the  Brief  of  May  is,  1497.  He  did  not  defy  the 
papal  summons  ordering  him  to  go  to  Rome ;  he 
did  not  resume  his  preaching  until  he  had  been 
assured  of  Alexander's  permission ;  he  did  not  re- 
sist the  formation  of  the  Tusco-Roman  Province, 
in  an}^  manner  prohibited  by  law  or  riglit ;  he  did 

1  The  .sc'coiul  on  Exodus, 


DID  THE  FRIAR    INCUR  THE  CENSURE?  147 


not  teach  heresy  or  scandalous  doctrine.  These 
facts  we  have  clearly  established. 

To  the  question,  therefore,  which  we  have  placed 
at  the  head  of  this  chapter,  the  reader  is  prepared 
to  answer  negatively  and  emphatically.  And  this 
conclusion  receives  a  solemn  confirmation  from  the 
Friar's  own  declaration  that  he  was  not  entangled 
in  any  censures,  —  a  declaration  that  comes  to  us 
with  an  impressiveness  peculiarly  sacred  in  the 
light  of  his  ending. 1 

1  See  his  letter  of  June  19,  1497. 


148     WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED'^ 


DID  THE  FRIAR  GIVE  SCANDAL? 
AVING  proved  that  Savonarola  was  not 


X  1  excommunicated,  we  desire  to  meet  the 
objection  of  those  who  ask,  did  not  the  Friar 
give  scandal  by  openly  defying  the  Brief  of 
excommunication  ? 

For  the  guidance  of  the  reader  we  consider  it 
necessary  to  summarize  the  teaching  of  theology 
on  scandal.  The  popular  understanding  of  scan- 
dal is  often  inexact.  Its  precise  meaning,  as  given 
by  divines,  is  conveyed  in  the  definition  of 
St.  Thomas  which  is  recognized  as  standard  by 
all  teachers  of  theology :  "  Any  word  or  deed  less 
correct  giving  to  another  the  occasion  of  spiritual 
ruin."  1  Paraphrasing  the  Angelic  Doctor's  pithy 
and  comprehensive  expression,  we  say  that  as 
scandal  etymologically  signifies  a  stumbling-block 
or  an  impediment,  theologically  it  means  any 
occasion  in  the  spiritual  life  bringing  spiritual 
harm,  by  stumble  or  fall,  because  of  the  words  or 
actions  of  another  who  has  set  a  hindrance  to  good, 
or  an  inducement  to  evil,  before  his  neighbor. 


TV. 


1  2«  2«,  q.  4"1,  nrt.  1. 


DID  THE  FRIAR  GIVE  SCANDAL? 


149 


Tliuti,  as  scandal  is  opposed  to  mercy  and  char- 
ity, the  obligation  of  avoiding  it  is  grave  ;  the  pre- 
cept of  the  Apostle  is  precise,  even  as  to  the 
appearance  of  evil,  from  which  we  must  abstain.^ 
A  distinction,  however,  must  be  made.  Scandal 
truly  given^  namely,  that  which  comes  from  the 
Avorcls  or  deeds  of  another,  evil  in  themselves  or 
having  the  appearance  of  e^■il,  is  different  from 
scandal  simply  taken^  quite  beyond  another's  inten- 
tion, and  quite  apart  from  the  nature  of  his  words 
or  deeds.  This  received  scandal  arises  either  from 
ignorance  or  weakness,  and  then  it  is  known  as 
scandalum  pusillorum^  or  "  the  scandal  of  the 
weak ; "  or  it  is,  by  evil  interpretation,  the  off- 
spring of  malice,  and  as  such  it  is  called  pliari- 
saiccd  scandal,  in  memorj'  of  the  Pharisees  who 
declared  that  they  were  scandalized  by  the  most 
holy  words  and  deeds  of  our  Blessed  Redeemer.'^ 
This  brings  us  to  the  root  of  our  question, 
namely,  to  what  extent  is  one  obliged  to  relin- 
quish spiritual  goods,  to  avoid  passive  scandal,  or 
the  scandal  that  people  might  take.  St.  Thomas 
will  be  our  guide. 

Spiritual  goods  necessary  for  salvation,  and 
which  cannot  be  abandoned  without  sin,  must  not 
be  relinquished  to  avoid  scandal  of  any  kind  or  to 
anyone,  because  charity  first  obliges  a  man  to  seek 
his  own  chief  spiritual  welfare  before  that  of  his 
neighbor. 

1  Tliessalonians  v.  22. 
-  St.  Matthew  xv.  12. 


150    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


Spiritual  goods  which  are  not  necessary  for  sal- 
vation, and  which  can  therefore  be  relinquished 
without  sin,  should  not  be  renounced  on  account 
of  Pharisaical  scandal,  if  there  is  sufficient  cause 
for  immediate  action  or  for  not  delaying  such 
works.  ,  The  reason  of  this  conclusion  the  Angelic 
Doctor  finds  in  the  malice  from  which  persons  so 
scandalized  would  sin,  a  condition  not  of  necessity 
requiring  the  help  of  others,  and  from  which  they 
can  easily  deliver  themselves.  Otherwise  such 
persons  would  be  encouraged  in  impeding  their 
neighbor's  spiritual  welfare,  and  consequently  the 
scandal  that  they  would  take  must  not  be  con- 
sidered, according  to  otir  Blessed  Lord's  own 
declaration  w^heu  His  disciples  feared  that  the 
Pharisees  would  be  scandalized  by  His  words  and 
works.  "  Let  them  alone  ;  they  are  blind  and  the 
leaders  of  the  blind."  ^ 

In  this  conclusion  of  the  Angelic  Doctor  a  con- 
dition is  expressed,  —  "  if  there  is  sufficient  cause 
for  immediate  action,  or  for  not  delaying  such 
works  ;  "  because  it  is  the  dictate  of  charity,  which 
shrinks  from  aught  that  may  offend  God,  that 
without  cause  we  should  not  give  even  to  one  who 
will  sin  of  his  own  malice,  an  occasion  for  Avrong- 
doinof. 

spiritual  goods  which  are  not  necessarj*  for  sal- 
vation, if  no  danger  threatens  us,  or  if  the  welfare 
of  the  public  does  not  otherwise  demand,  should 
1  St.  Matthew  xv.  14. 


DID  tup:  friar  give  scandal?  151 


he  concealed  or  (Icferved,  on  account  of  scandal  of 
the  weak,  till  the  likelihood  of  such  scandal  is 
removed,  through  explanation  or  instruction.  This 
obligation  springs  from  charity,  which  commands 
us  to  aid  our  neighbor  in  spiritual  need,  whenever 
we  can  conveniently  succor  him. 

Having  given  an  explanation  that  reasonable 
men  would  regard  as  satisfactory,  it  may  be  pre- 
sumed that  tliose  who  still  take  scandal  hyq 
actuated  by  malice,  and  for  them  we  should  not 
sacrifice  such  spiritual  goods,  though  they  are  only 
of  counsel.  Should  it  happen,  however,  that  be- 
cause of  stupidity,  or  because  they  are  swayed  by 
other  reasons,  or  led  by  force  of  old  habit,  some 
persons  cannot  grasp  our  explanation,  it  may  be 
urged  that,  if  the  spiritual  goods  in  question 
can  be  deferred,  without  serious  loss  to  our- 
selves or  danger  to  the  public  weal,  we  should 
wait  in  the  hope  of  further  enlightening  such 
"  weak  ones."  But  having  given  ample  time  and 
sufficient  instruction  in  the  spirit  of  meekness,^ 
having  gravely  considered  all  the  circumstances 
urging  us  to  action  or  restraining  us  from  it ;  leav- 
ing discreetly  and  maturely  decided  that  matters 
of  great  private  utility  are  involved,  our  own  spir- 
itual interests  are  at  stake,  the  Faith  is  threatened, 
or  the  welfare  of  souls  is  seriously  endangered, 
—  we  may  judge  that  only  does  the  word  of  the 
Apostle  then  specially  hold,     Be  ye  zealous  for 

1  Galatians  Vi.  1. 


152    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXC0MMCN1CATED9 


the  better  gifts,"  ^  but  that  works  otherwise  of 
counsel  have  become  of  necessity,  and  therefore 
must  not  be  omitted.  Thus  theologians  stand  on 
the  well-known  sentiment  of  the  great  Pope  St. 
Gregory  :  "  If  scandal  is  taken  from  the  truth,  it 
is  better  to  let  such  scandal  come,  rather  than  to 
relinquish  the  truth."  And  this  is  according  to 
our  Lord's  own  words,^  and  to  the  declaration  of 
that  great  champion  of  authority,  "  the  last  of  the 
Fathers,"  St.  Bernard,  who  quotes  these  words  of 
Pope  Gregory,  and  commenting  on  them  says  :  "  I 
would  not  be  silent  when  vice  was  to  be  rebuked, 
and  truth  defended."  ^  This  salutary  principle  does 
not  affect  the  question  of  the  mere  timeliness  of  a 
sermon,  or  of  the  advisability  of  preaching  in 
general;  it  concerns  rather  the  Gospel  vitally,  and 
involves  the  interests  of  souls  supremely  consid- 
ered in  a  grave  emergency. 

Nor  can  it  be  charged  against  those  who  act 
according  to  the  principles  enunciated,  that  through 
their  knowledge  the  weak  brother  perishes,^  for 
after  such  instruction  the  Aveak  brother  becomes  a 
pharisee,  and  the  scandal  wdiich  he  maliciously 
takes  may  be  permitted.  ^ 

1  1  Corinthians  xii.  31. 

2  St.  Matthew  xiii.  14. 

3  Epistola  78,  torn,  i.,  p.  38. 
1  Corinthians  viii.  11. 

^  We  give  tlie  doctrine  of  St.  Thomas,  2a  2«,  q.  43,  art.  1-8,  on 
which  the  reader  may  also  consult  tlie  fuller  comment  of  Caje- 
tan  and  Sylvius ;  St.  Alphonsus,  1.  ii.,  t.  3,  c.  ii.,  a.  1  and  2,  tom. 


DID  THE  FRIAR  CIVE  SCANDAL?  153 


Having  laid  down  these  admitted  principles  of 
moral  theology,  we  now  proceed  to  answer  the  per- 
tinent question  which  forms  this  chapter-heading 
by  presenting  the  Friar's  argument  as  expressed  in 
a  letter  of  uncertain  date,  but  written  subsequently 
to  the  publication  of  the  ban.  and  addressed  to  a 
Dominican  who  had  submitted  to  him  a  question 
as  to  the  validity  of  the  censure  :  ^  — 

i.,  pp.  239-245 ;  Billuart,  de  Vitiis  Cliaritati  Oppositis,  D.  vii., 
a.  vi.,  sec.  4,  torn,  v.,  pp.  378  seq. ;  Concilia  (Theologia),  1.  i.,  D.,  9, 
c.  5,  torn.  2,  pp.  Ill  seq.;  Wigandt,  Tract,  vii,  Ex.  vii.,  q.  32, 
p.  161 ;  Castro  Palao,  t.  vi.,  D.  vi.,  p.  16,  n.  3-6,  torn,  i.,  pp.  484, 
485;  Salraanticenses,  t.  xxi.,  de  Prseceptis,  c.  viii.,  p.  5,  torn,  v., 
p.  304;  Layman,  1.  ii.,  t.  iii.,  c.  13,  n.  8,  torn.  i.  p.  182;  Sporer, 
t.  V.  in  V.  Prsecept.  c.  1,  s.  ],  Reg.  2  and  3,  torn,  ii.,  p.  89;  An- 
toine,  c.  vi.,  s.  4,  q.  4,  torn,  i.,  p.  207 ;  Suarez,  de  Charitate,  D.  x., 
s.  3,  n.  7,  9,  torn,  xii.,  p  727 ;  Lacroix,  1.  ii.,  t.  3,  c.  2,  D.  5,  a.  2, 
torn,  i.,  pp.  112,  113;  Palmieri  (who  says  that  not  even  indiffer- 
ent works  are  to  be  abandoned),  p.  212 ;  Patuzzi,  Tract,  iv.,  de 
Virt.  c.  xviii.,  torn,  iii.,  100-112  ;  Varceno,  t.  viii.,  a.  3,  s.  3,  torn,  i., 
p.  375;  Aertnys,  1.  ii.,  t.  iii.,  p.  ii,  torn.  i.  pp.  143  seq. ;  Haine,  de 
Virtutibus,  s.  3,  art.  1  seq.,  tora. !.,  pp.  320  seq. ;  Lehmkuhl,  torn, 
i.,  379 ;  Claremontenses,  torn,  v.,  521,  522 ;  Cuuiliati,  Tr.  iv.,  c.  9, 
s.  6,  de  Decal.  Prteceptis ;  Kenrick,  Tr.  xiii.,  de  Virt.  Theol. 
p.  iii,  c.  6,  n.  125;  Reiffenstuel  (Theologia),  Tr.  iv.,  D.  vii ,  q.  2, 
n.  26,  28,  tora.  i,  107 ;  Roncaglia,  Tr.  vi.,  c.  6,  q.  7,  torn,  i.,  p.  185; 
Neyraguet,  pp.  108,  109. 

The  tract  on  Charity,  as  it  deals  with  scandal,  by  these 
authors,  may  be  more  fulh'  consulted,  as  well  as  moral  theolo- 
gians in  general.  We  have  given  the  strictest  teaching,  for  in 
favor  of  an  easier  interpretation  of  the  law  on  scandal  and  the 
omission  of  good  works,  we  could  refer  to  names  not  inconspic- 
uous among  theologians. 

1  Quetif  (pp.  191  seq.)  gives  the  Latin.  The  name  of  the 
Fatiier  to  wliom  the  letter  was  addressed  is  not  known.  We 
refer  the  reader  to  Savonarola's  letter  of  June  19,  1497. 


154    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


You  ask  mo,  dearly  beloved  Brother,  whether  an  ex- 
communication of  this  kind,  which,  within  the  past 
few  days  we  have  shown  to  be  unjust,^  ought  to  be  ob- 
served, at  least  in  public.  On  this  point  I  shall  let 
Peter  de  Palude^  and  the  Archbishop  of  Florence^ 
speak  openly  for  me  in  their  own  clear  words:  'An 
unjust  excommunication  need  not  be  feared  on  account 
of  the  penalty  of  the  law,  because  according  to  truth  he 
incurs  no  penalty  of  law  who  does  not  observe  a  sen- 
tence that  is  null,^  but  on  account  of  fault,  by  reason 
of  scandal.  Bat,  as  Boetius  says,^  'there  are  some 
ideas  or  notions  common  to  all,  others  that  are  special 
to  the  learned.'  When,  therefore,  it  is  known  to  the 
learned  that  a  sentence  is  null,  although  among  the 
people  it  is  not  understood,  a  man  may  disregard  such 
a  sentence  in  private,  but  in  public  he  ought  to  observe 
it,  until  the  danger  of  scandal  has  been  reasonably  re- 
moved ]  as  when  one  who  has  been  publicly  excommun- 

1  Savonarola  uses  this  word  after  the  manner  of  the  older 
canonists,  in  the  same  sense  as  invalid.  Modern  doctors  distin- 
guish the  terms,  but  their  conclusions  substantially  agree  with 
those  of  the  writers  who  preceded  the  Council  of  Trent.  In  his 
sermons,  the  twenty-second  on  Amos,  the  first  and  the  second 
on  Exodus,  the  tenth  on  Ruth  and  Micheas,  and  that  on  Ag- 
geus,  Savonarola  develops  the  teaching  of  St.  Thomas  on  law, 
justice,  and  charity  in  an  admirable  manner,  clearly  sliowing 
how  all  ordinations  against  justice  and  charity  lack  binding 
force,  because  they  are  contrary  to  the  natural  and  the  Divine 
law,  which  is  eternal. 

In  4  Lib.  Sent.  1).  xviii.,  q.  1,  art.  3. 

^  St.  Antoninus,  Summa,  pars,  iii.,  t.  24,  c.  73. 

*  Thus  Savonarola  shows  that  he  is  in  harmony  with  the 
ancient  canonists  in  using  the  terms  "unjust"  and  "null" 
indifferently. 

^  In  Librum  Quomodo  Substantias  Bonas  Sunt,  p.  1317. 


DID  THE  FRIAR  GIVE  SCAXDAL? 


155 


icated-  and  pnbliclj'  denounced  shows  to  the  contrary 
and  publicly  that  the  sentence  does  not  hold  (for  ex- 
ample, because  of  an  appeal,  or  for  any  other  just  rea- 
son), for  then  there  can  no  longer  be  the  scandal  of  the 
weak,  but  onl}^  pharisaical  scandal,  and  this  is  to  be 
contemned.' 

"  In  the  Decretals,  Gelasius  ^  says :  '  If  one  is  censured, 
let  him  put  away  his  error  (or  sin)  and  the  sentence 
will  be  cancelled.  But  if  he  has  been  unjustly  (in- 
validl^')  sentenced,  he  ought  not  to  regard  it,  insomuch 
as  no  one  can  be  bound  hy  an  unjust  sentence  before 
God  and  His  Church.  He,  therefore,  who  knows  that 
he  is  in  no  manner  bound,  ought  not  to  desire  ab- 
solution.' 

Wherefore,  since  it  has  been  for  some  time  evident 
to  all  the  people  that  this  excommunication  has  been 
extorted  by  the  wicked,  through  false  accusations  and 
persistent  importunity,  that  they  might  have  an  easier 
way  to  follow  their  evil  course  ;  and  since,  through  the 
letter  recently  published  by  me,  I  have  shown  the  whole 
truth  of  this  affair,  thus  removiug  from  the  people 
the  danger  of  scandal  and  proving  clearly  the  injustice 
of  the  sentence,  I  am  not  obliged  to  observe  it  in  pub- 
lic, nor  can  any  one  be  scandalized  unless  he  wishes 
obstinately  to  jDroclaim  himself  a  pharisee.  And  this 
can  also  be  more  fully  understood  from  the  words  of 
John  Gerson,  that  most  learned  and  most  religious 
man,  whom  the  Parisians  call  the  most  Christian  Doctor. 
In  his  Tract  on  Excommunications  and  Irregularities, 
he  writes  among  other  points,  and  elegantly-,  as  fol- 

^  Gelasius,  Episcopis  Orientalibiis  de  Damnatione  Dioscori, 
p.  150. 


156    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


lows :  ^  '  Contempt  of  the  Keys  ^  can  be  traced  only 
from  legitimate  power  and  from  the  legitimate  use  of 
that  power  by  him  who  commands  under  threat  of  ex- 
communication or  interdict;  for  otherwise  prelates 
would  be  able  to  impose  w^hatever  servitude  they  chose 
upon  their  subjects,  if,  even  in  their  erroneous  and  un- 
just sentences,  they  should  be  always  obe3^ed.  And 
thus  it  is  evident  that  the  common  saying,  "  The  sen- 
tence of  the  prelate  or  judge,  even  when  unjust  (in- 
valid) must  be  feared,"  needs  qualification.  Otherwise, 
it  is  not  generally  true  that  this  means  such  a  sentence 
must  be  sustained  and  not  refuted;  indeed  there  might 
be  cases  wherein  such  submission  would  be  asinine 
patience  and  timidit}^,  as  foolish  as  that  of  the  hare. 

'''Contempt  of  the  Keys  ^  involves  greater  danger 
when  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  is  concerned,  because  from 
the  abuses  of  inferiors  tliere  is  recourse  to  the  Pope, 
on  appeal.  And  if  it  b'e  said  that  in  like  manner  an 
appeal  can  be  made  from  the  Pope  to  a  General  Council, 
it  w^as  formerly  declared,  before  the  Councils  of  Pisa  and 
Constance,  that  this  was  in  no  manner  lawful,  and  they 
who  so  hold  bring  forward  laws  which  to  them  seem 
very  clear;  but  now  it  is  vigorously  asserted  that  this 
is  heresy,  condemned  by  a  most  special  Constitution  in 
the  aforesaid  Council  of  Constance,  as  elsewhere  we 
have  fully  shown.  It  is  admitted  that,  though  lawful, 
yet  for  light  matters  there  ought  not  to  be  an  appeal  to 

1  Tom.  ii.  423. 

2  A  canonical  and  theological  expression  signifying  disre- 
gard or  disobedience  and  contempt  of  the  binding  and  loosing 
power  of  the  Church. 

3  Gerson  here  uses  this  expression  in  the  sense  of  abuse  of 
power. 


DID  THE  FRIAR  GIVE  SCANDAL? 


157 


a  Council,  to  whicli  there  cannot  be  such  eas}'  recourse 
as  there  can  be  to  the  Pope.-^ 

'  Contempt  of  the  Keys  is  not  incurred  in  those 
cases  in  which  the  commands  of  the  Pope  ought  not  to  be 
obeyed,  if,  namely,  he  enormously  and  most  scandalouslj^ 
abuses  his  power,  unto  destruction  and  not  unto  edifi- 
cation, for  which,  as  the  Apostle  says,  power  has  been 
conferred  on  him.  For  instance,  if  the  Pope  wished  to 
appropriate  the  treasures  of  the  Church  or  to  usurp  her 
inheritance,  or  to  reduce  to  abject  slavery  the  clergy 
and  their  goods,  despoiling  them  of  their  rights  with- 
out cause,  who  would  say  that  this  should  be  toler- 
ated ?  ^Yho  would  not  admit  that  the  Pope  might  be 
asked,  Why  do  3'ou  do  this  ?  Who  would  not  agree 
that  he  should  be  resisted  to  his  face  ? 

"  ^Contempt  of  the  Keys  is  likewise  not  always  found 
with  those  who  do  not  obe}^  sentences  of  excommunica- 
tion promulgated  by  the  Pope  or  his  agents,  nor  with 
those  who  seek  the  help  of  the  secular  arm  in  defence 
against  such  sentences;  for  the  natural  law  declares 
that  we  can  repel  force  by  force,  and  it  is  evident  that 
such  excommunications  are  not  right  and  law,  but  force 
and  violence,  against  which  it  is  just  for  one  to  defend 
himself.^ 

1  Gerson's  view  on  tliis  point,  tliat  a  Council  is  superior  to 
tlie  Pope,  is  no  longer  tenable  among  Catholics ;  nor  was  it  in 
his  day,  the  sad  period  of  the  Great  Schism  of  the  West,  a  gen- 
erally admitted  opinion. 

-  Gerson's  words  must  be  read  in  the  gloomy  light  of  tlie 
fifteenth  century,  when,  among  other  grave  abuses,  that  of  the 
Church's  spiritual  weajjons  was  also  of  too  frequent  occurrence, 
—  an  evil  which  drew  from  the  Fatliers  of  Trent,  who  witnessed 
the  calamities  born  of  that  unhappy  period,  the  prudent  admo- 


158    n^^KS'  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


^'  'Contempt  of  the  Keys,  and  consequently  excom- 
munication or  irregularity,  is  not  incurred  when  in  the 
aforesaid  cases  any  canonist  or  theologian  declares  on  his 
conscience  that  such  sentences  are  not  to  be  feared  or 
observed;  and  this'  especially  holds  if  due  caution  has 
been  taken  to  instruct  the  people,  so  that  there  will  be 
no  scandal  of  the  weak  among  those  who  suppose  that 
the  Pope  is  as  God,  having  all  power  in  Heaven  and  on 
earth.  But  such  stupidity  is  to  be  removed  by  suitable 
instruction;  and  then  if  they  are  unwilling  to  abide  by 
it,  the  scandal  they  may  take  is  to  be  accounted  as 
Pharisaical  and  from  malice,  not  the  scandal  of  the 
weak,  from  simplicity  or  ignorance. 

"  '  Contempt  of  the  Ke3^s  is  rather  encouraged  than 
abated,  when  those  who  ought  to  resist  the  abuse  of  the 
Keys  are  divided,  and  thus  become  an  impediment, 
either  through  stupidity^  or  sluggishness  (some  favoring 
abuses,  others  wishing  to  remove  them),  preventing  an 
expression  of  united  opinion,  whereby  it  would  be  seen 
that  there  is  no  ground  for  exclusion  from  the  house  of 
God. 

'It  is,  indeed,  of  truth  that  every  promising  means 
should  be  humbly  used  with  the  Sovereign  Pontiff, 
when  he  has  been  deceived  and  thus  induced  to  impose 
an  unjust  censure,  in  the  hope  that  he  may  reconsider 
and  recall  it;  but  if  humble  perseverance  avails  nought, 
then  may  manly  liberty  be  courageously^  followed.' 

nition  with  which  they  charged  prelates  to  ohscrve  great  re- 
straint and  forbearance  in  fulminating  censures. 

Writing  of  the  period  with  which  we  are  dealing,  Pastor 
justly  remarks:  "The  punislmients  inflicted  by  the  Church  had 
certainly  less  effect  than  formerly,  partly  through  the  fault  of 
the  clergy,  wlio  employed  them  too  freely  and  for  trifling 
causes."    (History  of  tlie  Popes,  v.  92.    Eng.  trans.) 


DID  THE  FRIAR  GIVE  SCANDAL? 


159 


Behold  how  well  «Tohii  Gerson  speaks  to  our  case. 
To  believe,  therefore,  that  all  censures  should  be  ob- 
served proceeds  from  ignorance,  which  is  especially 
unbecoming  and  harmful  in  priests  and  religious  who 
have  undertaken  the  office  of  preacliing  and  instructing 
the  people.  But  such  ignorance  has  waxed  so  strong 
in  our  day  that  many  rashly  and  blindly  atlirm  that  all 
who  come  to  our  convent,  or  spealv  with  us,  are,  by  the 
very  fact,  excommunicated.  This,  at  least,  is  very 
doubtful,  because  in  the  words  of  the  Brief  ^  this  is  not 
expressly  stated;  the  Pope  only  so  admonishes  them 
under  a  like  penalty  of  excommunication.  But  canon- 
ists commonly  hold  that  when  such  an  adrtionition  is 
given,  unless  it  is  added,  'you  will  incur  excommuni- 
cation' by  the  very  fact  of  disregarding,  one  so  acting 
is  not  excommunicated,  but  may  be  excommunicated. 
And  this  is  according  to  general  i)ractice.  But  to  af- 
firm as  certain  what  is  doubtful  in  this  case  proceeds 
either  from  malice  and  presumption  or  from  ignorance, 
particularly  because  penal  things  are  to  be  restricted, 
nor  may  any  one  in  doubt  be  condemned  by  law. 

'•In  this  affair  the  ignorance  and  blindness  of  these 
men  are  further  manifested  when  they  preach  that 
they  who  speak  to  me  or  go  to  our  convent  must  be 
avoided,  not  knowing  that  Pope  Martin  the  Fifth,  in 
the  Council  of  Constance  (and  it  was  renewed  in  that 
of  Basle),  decreed  that  the  faithful  are  by  no  nuiaus 
obliged  to  avoid  excommunicated  persons,  whether 
in  matters  divine  or  otherwise,  unless  such  persons 
have  been  expressly  named  and  denounced,  excepting 
the  case  of  those  who  have  notoriously  assaulted  an 
ecclesiastic. 

1  Of  May  18,  14U7. 


IGO    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


Hence,  even  if  we  admitted  that  the  excommunica- 
tion was  valid,  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  avoid  those 
to  whom  I  have  referred.  But  these  priests  and  re- 
ligious, who  spend  the  whole  day  in  idleness,  seldom  or 
never  devote  themselves  to  study  or  prayer,  and  there- 
fore they  are  grossly  ignorant,  to  say  nothing  worse. 
However,  do  you  pray  for  the  Church,  that  God  may  at 
length  deign  to  illumine  her  as  in  the  beginning. 
Farewell  in  Christ."  ^ 

By  recalling  the  principles  of  canon  law  and 
theology  bearing  on  our  inquiry,  and  which  we 
have  already  given ;  and  by  considering  in  their 
light  the  story  of  Savonarola's  conduct  as  narrated 
in  the  first  part  of  our  essay,  the  reader  can  judge 
whether  he  gave  scandal.  That  his  pharisaical 
enemies  took  scandal  after  their  kind  concerns  us 
not,  for  it  concerned  him  not.  The  representa- 
tive men  of  the  State,  after  grave  deliberation,  and 
the  virtuous  citizens,  were  not  only  fully  prepared 
for  his  preaching,  at  the  end  of  the  Friar's  long 
seclusion,  but  they  were  also  eager  to  listen  to  him.^ 

1  Quetif  (pp.  191  seq.)  pul)lishes  the  Latin  text  of  this 
letter.  The  date  of  its  writing  is  not  known,  but  it  was  prob- 
ably late  in  June  or  early  in  July,  shortly  after  the  Brief  of 
May  13,  1497,  had  been  received  in  Florence. 

2  Even  before  the  faithful  spoke,  telling  of  their  spiritual 
hunger,  the  nuns  of  the  Monastery  of  St.  Vincent,  Florence, 
had  begged  him  to  give  tliem  conferences ;  but  he  declined, 
judging  that  tliey  were  under  no  special  need,  nor  was  the  time 
ripe  when  there  would  be  no  scandal  of  the  weak.  (Epistolae 
Spirituales  et  Asceticae,  xii.,  p.  229  seq.)  After  he  had  resumed 
his  preaching  the  nuns  of  the  monastery  known  as  the  Fuligno, 


DID  THE  FRIAR  GIVE  SCANDAL? 


161 


The  suppression  of  all  sermons,  coupled  with  tlie 
renewed  activity  of  the  wicked,  had  thrown  Flor- 
ence back  to  the  deplorable  conditions  from  which 
Savonarola's  apostolate  had  rescued  the  people. 
Under  the  impulse  of  charity,  that  supreme  virtue, 
which  tlie  Apostle  has  described  as  the  greatest,^ 
Savonarola,  who  was  ready  to  lay  down  his  life 
for  souls,  was  moved  to  speak.  Under  this  uni- 
versal law  and  after  mature  counsel  with  holy 
and  learned  men,  he  broke  the  silence  he  had  so 
long  maintained  on  account  of  the  weak,^  and 
beholding  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  flock  en- 
dangered, realizing  that  it  was  not  a  question  as 
to  the  timeliness  or  expediency  of  preaching,  but 
that  the  doctrine  which  he  had  taught  was  stig- 
matized, that  the  truth  of  Jesus  Christ  was  branded, 
as  pernicious,  that  further  silence  would  be  a 

Elorence,  who  were  under  tlie  jurisdiction  of  the  Archbishop 
and  the  direction  of  the  Canons  of  San  Lorenzo's,  attended 
Savonarola's  sermons,  coming  two  at  a  time  to  each  discourse. 
(Lottini,  p.  23.)  Both  of  these  Communities  were  noted  for 
their  piety  and  fervor.  The  testimony  of  their  esteem  is  not 
without  marked  value  when  it  is  asked  if  Savonarola  neglected 
any  precaution  against  scandal. 

1  1  Corinthians  xiii.  13 ;  St.  Thomas,  1^  2«,  q.  66,  art.  6 ;  and 
2^  2*  q.  23,  art.  6. 

2  In  the  second  sermon  on  Exodus,  he  puts  to  himself  the 
objection:  "0  Friar,  you  have  observed  the  excommunication. 
You  have  remained  shut  up  in  your  convent,  and  you  have  cele- 
brated Mass  in  private  without  coming  before  the  public." 
And  he  answered :  "  I  have  never  o]),served  it  on  my  own 
account,  and  I  have  said  Mass  every  day,  but  I  have  made  use 
of  some  ])recautions,  outwardly  and  through  regard  for  the 
weak," 

U 


162    WAS  SAVOXAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


confession  of  the  justice  of  the  slanders  published 
against  him,  he  resolved  to  mount  the  pulpit, 
lie  folloAved  the  teaching  of  St.  Thomas,^  of  St. 
Gregory,  of  Catholic  theology. 

Had  it  been  merely  a  question  of  the  advisabil- 
ity of  then  preaching,  he  should  have  been  silent ;  ^ 
it  was,  however,  a  case  of  the  truth  of  his  doc- 
trine, of  public  morality,  of  the  welfare  of  souls, 
of  supreme  charity.^  Having  given  ample  instruc- 
tion, in  which  learned  and  eminent  men  of  the 
time  joined,  having  removed  lingering  doubts,  and 
set  forth  the  injustice  and  invalidity  of  the  excom- 
munication, he  was  free  to  disregard  the  hypocrites 
and  pharisees  who  persecuted  him,  and  sought  the 
destruction  of  the  reform  which  he  had  inaugurated. 

Not  only  did  he  not  give  scandal  in  this,  but 
he  sought  to  avert  the  scandal  given  by  others.* 
Following  the  teaching  of  the  Angelic  Doctor  he 
would  administer  paternal  correction,  even  to  those 

1  In  4  Sent.  D.  xxxviii.,  q.  ii.,  a.  4. 

2  St.  Matthew  vii.  6. 

3  His  sermons  for  Septuagesima  and  Sexagesima,  1498,  make 
clear  this  point. 

*  What  held  after  the  Friar's  death  was  true  during  tlie  sad 
days  of  the  excommunication :  "  It  was  a  common  saying  that 
since  the  days  of  Mahomet  no  such  scandal  had  ever  disgraced 
Christianity  as  the  wickedness  then  rife  amongst  the  Floren- 
tines. Vice  revelled  in  all  its  forms  as  if  virtue  had  been  pro- 
hibited by  law,  and  no  crime  was  held  so  abominable,  so 
shameful  or  reprehensible  as  that  of  having  believed  in  the 
Friar,  or  advocated  a  reform  of  the  Court  of  Rome.  Vices  of 
tlie  most  disgusting  nature,  then  but  too  common  in  Florence, 
now  revived  in  all  the  filth  of  their  unnatural  character,  and 
again  poisoned  society."  Kapler,  bk.  ii.,  chap.  7,  vol.  iii.,  pp. 
617,  618. 


DID  THE  FRIAR  GIVE  SCAXDAL  ? 


163 


above  him.^  Like  St.  Bernard  he  would  not  shrink, 
because  of  the  age,  power,  or  dignity  of  any  man, 
from  reproaching  him,  for  the  avoidance  of  scandal. 
The  greater  tlie  name  and  dignity,  he  argued  with 
the  Saint,  the  greater  the  scandal.  Therefore  he 
would  reprove  his  elder,  he  would  try  to  teach  a 
master,  he  would  give  counsel  to  the  wise.^ 

The  extraordinary^  character  of  Savonarola's 
mission  had  rendered  his  position  singular.  The 
conditions  that  prevail  in  the  usual  work  of  a 
preacher  did  not  hold  as  to  his  influence,  nor  as 
to  the  necessity  of  his  labors.  Though  the  Flor- 
entines had  many  instructors,  he  had  been  their 
spiritual  foster  father ;  and  outraged  virtue  and 
derided  piety,  witnessing  the  wreck  of  his  wonder- 
ful work,  grieved,  with  the  Friar  himself,  over 
the  destruction  of  the  building  he  had  with  so 
much  care  erected,  over  the  desolation  of  the 
vineyard  he  had  cultivated  in  labor  and  teai-s  ; 
and  they  cried  out  to  the  silenced  leader,  and 
begged  him  to  speak  once  more,  to  fight  against 
religion's  enemies,  who  had  abused  religion's  power, 
"  practical  infidels,  corrupt  themselves  and  cor- 
rupting others,  into  whose  hands,  as  many  felt, 
the  authority  of  the  Church  had  fallen."  *  It  was 
not  against  the  Pope  that  he  stood  forth,  nor 

1  2»  2«,  q.  .33,  art.  2,  3,  4,  and  Qusestiones  Disputatae,  de 
Virtutibus,  q.  vi.,  art.  1,  ad.  18. 
^  Epistola  cc,  torn,  i.,  p.  8-5. 
^  1  Corinthians  iv.  15. 
4  Lottini,  p.  21. 


164    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 

against  the  authority  of  the  Holy  See.  He  con- 
tended that  he  was  following  what  would  have 
been  the  Pope's  directions,  had  Alexander  not 
been  so  shamefully  deceived. 

On  this  point,  let  us  hear  the  Friar  himself. 
In  the  last  sei^mori  he  preached,  on  March  18, 
1498,  he  objects  in  the  name  of  the  people :  O 
Friar,  we  must  not  oppose  the  ecclesiastical 
power  !  "  "I  say  that  when  it  destroys  the  Church, 
it  is  not  ecclesiastical  power,  but  it  is  an  infernal 
power,  and  is  given  by  Satan.  I  say  to  you  that 
when  it  fosters  harlots,  profligates,  and  robbers, 
and  persecutes  the  good  and  destroys  good-living 
Christians,  then  it  is  an  infernal  and  diabolical 
power,  and  must  be  firml}^  resisted  and  corrected, 
as  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  did.  But  because  you 
say,  'O  Friar,  you  are  weakening  ecclesiastical 
power,'  I  answer  that  this  is  not  true.  I  also 
wish  not  to  be  above  the  ecclesiastical  authority, 
and  thus  I  submit  myself,  and  all  that  I  have 
ever  said,  to  the  correction  of  the  Roman  Church 
and  the  ecclesiastical  power.  And  I  do  not  weaken 
it ;  in  fact,  I  even  increase  it  and  wish  to  remain 
subject  to  it,  but  not  under  infernal  power,  and 
not  under  diabolical  power.  I  defend  the  ecclesi- 
astical power  and  the  Roman  Church  and  the 
doctrine  of  Jesus  Chiist." 

The  reader  is  here  asked  to  refer  to  the  teaching 
of  theology  as  embodied  in  the  first  part  of  the 
chapter.    In  the  light  of  these  sound  principles, 


DID  THE  FRIAR  GIVE  SCANDAL?  165 


follow  the  Friar,  step  by  stex),  through  the  perils 
that  beset  religion  because  of  the  attack  on  his 
ministry,  and  the  calumnies  against  his  preaching ; 
consider  the  grave  interests  that  were  endangered  ; 
observe  the  care  and  prudence  with  which  he  met 
the  difficult  problem,  the  solid  foundation  on  which 
he  rested,  of  doctrine,  learning,  and  counsel,  in  the 
conclusion  on  vrhich  he  resolved;  and  note  well 
that  only  when  the  preparation  of  the  people  had 
met  their  own  earnest  longing,  did  the  Friar  break 
the  silence  which  had  cost  Florence  so  dearly. 
We  are  satisfied  that  the  serious  judgment  of  the 
reader  will  not  only  acquit  Savonarola  of  the 
charge  of  having  given  scandal,  but  it  will  eulo- 
gize the  piety,  humility,  and  courage  of  the  man 
who  thus  ''stood  forth  for  manly  liberty  in  Christ," 
for  the  truth  of  his  wonderful  preaching,  and  for 
the  maintenance  of  his  marvellous  reform. 


*■ 


166    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


V. 

CONCLUSION. 

A CAREFUL  study  of  the  intricate  question 
to  which  we  have  endeavored  to  give  a 
satisfactory  answer  convinces  tlie  writer  that 
Savonarohi's  career,  during  the  trying  period  of 
the  ban,  was  one  of  religious  prudence,  and  noble 
consistency.  His  own  conscience  had  acquitted 
him  of  guilt  or  offence  that  might  entail  a  censure. 
The  people  soon  learned  that  the  excommunica- 
tion was  invalid,  and  though  his  enemies  strove  to 
influence  public  opinion,  they  carried  little  weight 
bej^ond  their  own  circles. 

The  Holy  See,  when  the  sad  end  came,  confirmed 
the  attitude  of  the  determined  Friar,  who  had  never 
asked  for  absolution,  who  had  scorned  the  offer  of 
freedom  from  censure,  a  freedom  depending  on  a 
simoniacal  bribe ;  for  Alexander,  though  he  gave 
Savonarola  permission  to  celebrate  Mass  on  the 
day  of  his  execution,  granted  no  absolution  from 
the  bond  of  excommunication,  and  allowed  the 
condemned  man,  sacramentally  absolved,  and  en- 
riched with  a  plenary  indulgence,  to  expire  under 
the  ban !  ^ 

1  Consult  chapter  "  The  Question  of  Censures." 


CONCLUSION. 


167 


This  fact  proves  that  Alexander  did  not  regard 
the  Friar  as  excommunicated.  Nor  can  it  be  said 
that  his  confessor  had  been  authorized  to  absolve 
Savonarola  from  the  censure,  for  what  is  freely  as- 
serted is  as  freely  denied,  and  as  the  Friar  was  not 
in  articulo  mortis  (in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word) 
the  ordinary  power  of  a  confessor  would  not  suffice. 
Moreover,  the  Apostolic  judges  were  present,  and 
on  them  would  have  devolved  the  exercise  of  the 
delegated  faculty  had  any  such  faculty  been 
granted.  And  even  assuming  that  such  a  faculty 
had  been  granted,  it  is  certain  that  there  was  no 
retraction  by  Savonarola  of  errors  charged,  there 
was  no  expression  of  repentance  for  scandal  that 
would  have  been  given  by  offences  for  which  he 
had  been  declared  excommunicate.  A  private 
apology  and  regret  would  not  have  availed.  From 
a  man  validly  and  notoriously  excommunicated  an 
open  reparation  was  due,  if  not  by  a  personal, 
verbal  declaration  before  his  death,  at  least,  by  an 
authentic  writing  for  subsequent  publication ;  and 
from  this  obligation  there  could  be  no  release  by 
the  Apostolic  commissaries.  Had  these  men  not 
acted  in  conformity  with  the  Pope's  views  and 
according  to  his  instructions,  is  it  likely  that  the 
omission  of  absolution  and  the  neglect  of  repara- 
tion would  have  passed  without  rebuke  from 
Alexander?  There  was  no  rebuke  from  him,  nor 
complaint  from  any  one  authorized  to  speak. 

Savonarola  made  no  apology.    With  serene  con- 


168    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


sistency  he  went  unfalteringly  to  that  death  for 
which  he  had  long  prepared,  and  which  he  willingly 
endured  for  principles  of  which  his  life  had  been  a 
beautiful  exemplification.  He  went  with  the  ban 
still  upon  him,  such  as  it  was ;  the  ban  from  which 
he  had  solemnly  announced  that  he  would  never 
seek  absolution,^  because  he  knew  that  he  had 
done  no  wrong  meriting  such  a  penalty,  and  be- 
cause he  believed  that  the  censure  was  unjust  and 
invalid,  without  binding  force  before  God  or  man.^ 

1  Sermon  for  Septuagesima,  1498. 

2  Savonarola's  various  appeals  for  the  lifting  of  the  ban 
were  not  for  absolution.  He  strove  to  have  a  serious  impedi- 
ment to  his  work  removed,  and  through  respect  for  the  Holy 
See,  and  fearing  lest  scandal  might  come  to  the  "little  ones,"  he 
labored,  till  hope  was  cast  down,  to  secure  the  recall  of  the 
Brief.  In  the  second  sermon  on  Exodus  he  put  the  objection 
to  himself :  "  0  Friar,  you  have  written  and  asked  for  absolu- 
tion." He  answered  :  "  For  myself  I  liave  not  done  this,  though 
they  asked  me  to  write  and  admit  that  I  had  erred,  but  in  no 
manner  would  I  do  so.  In  other  things  I  have  erred,  for  I  am  a 
sinner,  but  not  in  this,  because  I  have  preached  the  doctrine  of 
Jesus  Christ.  I  have  indeed  written  for  fear  of  scandal,  and  I 
have  tried  to  have  the  excommunication  removed,  for  love  of 
the  '  little  ones.' "  And  in  his  third  sermon  on  Exodus  he 
declared :  "  Believe  me,  I  am  not  foolish,  not  knowing  how  I  am 
placed.  If  I  desired  human  expedients  I  would  know  how  to 
free  myself.  I  recognize  their  cunning  and  craft.  If  I  were 
satisfied  to  trample  on  conscience  I  also  could  be  as  cunning; 
but  knowing  that  the  Lord  is  with  me,  I  fear  nothing."  See 
also  Quetif,  p.  252.  In  this  spirit  he  pleaded  with  the  Pope,  but 
as  has  been  already  noted,  it  is  probable  that  some  of  his  letters 
were  kept  from  Alexander  b}'  determined  enemies  who  dreaded 
the  pontifical  favor  in  behalf  of  their  victim.  It  may  also  be 
stated  that  the  Florentine  authorities  held  the  same  view  as 
that  of  the  Friar,  and  in  the  same  spirit  labored  to  have  the 


CONCLUSION. 


169 


By  those  wlio  coudemn  Savonarola  as  really 
excommunicated,  much  stress  has  been  laid  on  the 
fact  that  he  was  a  member  of  a  Religious  Order, 
and  the  question  of  the  obedience  which  he  thereby 
owed  to  his  superiors  is  discussed  in  a  manner 
altogether  unfavorable  to  him.  AVith  that  cj^ues- 
tion  we  have  dealt  in  an  Appendix.  Here  we 
merel}-  desire  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  atti- 
tude of  the  Friar,  at  the  close  of  his  life,  touching 
the  excommunication,  finds  singular  approval  from 
his  own  Order,  which  has  practically 'taken  the  same 
stand  as  that  which  Pope  Alexander  took,  that 
Savonarola  was  not  excommunicated;  and  as  the 
latter  judged  that  he  needed  not  absolution,  so  his 
Order  has  always  regarded  his  acts  of  jurisdiction 
as  valid,  a  thing  not  sufferable  had  he  been  really 
excommunicated,  for  then  he  would  have  been 
deprived  of  all  jurisdiction.^  Xeither  the  Master 
General  of  the  Order  nor  the  Cardinal  Protector 
nor  the  Commissioner  especially  appointed  to  con- 
sider his  case,  declared  him  deposed  from  his  post 
of  Prior  of  St.  Mark's ;  and  during  the  sad  period 
following  the  publication  of  the  Brief  of  Excommu- 
nication, up  to  the  time  of  his  arrest,  he  discharged 
the  duties  of  his  office,  in  all  its  details,  including, 
as  the  chronicle  of  his  convent  informs  us,  the  im- 

Brief  of  May  13,  1407  recalled ;  in  this  effort  tliev  were  advised 
by  eminent  theologians  and  canonists.  See  Quetif,  pp.  52  seq., 
and  Miscellanea  of  Bahizius,  torn,  i.,  594. 

1  Schmalzgrueber,  t.  39,  n.  164,  torn,  xi.,  445;  Reiffenstuel, 
t.  39,  n.  68,  torn,  v.,  391. 


170    WAS  SAVOXAnOLA  EXCOMMUNICATED-? 

portant  work  of  reception  to  the  habit  and  to  pro- 
fession of  various  candidates  and  novices. 

Of  all  the  principles  which  w^e  have  noted, 
Savonarola  was  well  aware.  Witnessing  as  he 
did  the  tragedy  that  was  enacted,  of  which  he  was 
the  hero  and  the  victim,  seeing  with  a  clearness 
that  to  us  is  impossible,  with  the  mists  of  four  hun- 
dred years  obscuring  our  view,  he  was  certain  that 
no  law  obliged  him  publicly  to  acknowledge  him- 
self as  excommunicate,  when  the  conviction  had 
become  general  that  the  censure  was  invalid,  not 
only  because  of  substantial  defects  in  juridical 
order,  and  because  the  Brief  was  extorted  from  the 
Pope  through  falsehood  and  slander,  and  published 
against  his  will,  but  chiefly  because  the  alleged 
fault,  interdicted  under  the  penalty  of  excommuni- 
cation, did  not  exist,  because  the  Friar  had  not 
done  that  for  which  he  was  declared  anathema. 

Having  exhausted  all  means  of  patient  submis- 
sion, of  silent  humiliation,  of  respectful  petition, 
and  finding  the  way  to  the  Sovereign  Pontiff 
closed  against  him  by  wicked  men  who  had  shame- 
fully abused  the  papal  confidence,  Savonarola  fol- 
low^ed  the  counsel  of  Gerson,  and  stood  for  his 
manly  liberty,  for  the  doctrine  of  his  Divine  Mas- 
ter, and,  in  charity  that  was  ready  unto  death,  for 
the  welfare  of  souls. 

Here  it  may  be  pertinent  to  observe  that  no  one 
has  ever  supposed  that  the  Communities  of  St. 
Mark's  and  St.  Dominic's,  Fiesole,  were  excom- 


CONCLUSION. 


171 


municated,  individually  or  collectively.  Yet  in 
that  troubled  time,  so  far  as  history  has  unfolded 
the  record  of  the  words  and  deeds  of  the  friars  of 
these  two  houses,  we  are  safe  in  affirming  that  if 
Savonarola  was  in  conscience  excommunicated,  so 
also  were  they,  for  their  stand  was  in  agreement 
with,  his,  nor  could  the  penalty  of  their  actions 
have  fallen  on  their  Prior,  but  must  have  been 
borne  by  themselves.  No  one  at  the  time  enter- 
tained any  erroneous  notions  on  this  point.  De- 
spite the  fact  that  the  terms  of  the  Brief  of  union, 
November  7,  1496,  were  general,  that  an  excom- 
munication was  launched  against  any  and  every  one, 
of  whatsoever  dignity,  who  would  antagonize  the 
scheme,  it  was  understood  that  Savonarola  was  the 
object  of  attack.  All  knew  the  significance  of  the 
stigma  put  uj3on  the  Prior,  who  had  clearly  stated 
it :  "  These  adversaries  seek  one  man  out  of  hatred 
for  the  Truth."  ^  They  desired  to  restore  a  reign 
under  which  license  would  have  sway.  To  accom- 
plish their  object,  it  was  necessary  for  the  libertines 
and  infidels  to  destroy  Savonarola's  influence  over 
the  people,  and  this  could  be  effected  only  by  de- 
stroying himself.  Against  libertine  and  infidel  he 
fouglit  bravely.  That  he  failed,  and  in  failing  lost 
his  life,  is  in  the  record  of  every  martyr.  Savonarola 
was  put  to  death  in  hatred  of  virtue,  under  cover  of 
a  political  necessity.  It  was  like  to  an  older  story, 
that  of  the  Divine  Master  Himself. 

1  Letter  of  June  19,  1497. 


172    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 

Savonarola  was  one  of  those  victims  that  from 
time  to  time  justice  demands  of  humanity.^  He 
was  persecuted  for  justice's  sake,  he  was  made 
anathema  for  his  brethren  ;  ^  and  the  iron  entered  his 
soul  in  a  manner  supremely  agonizing  —  through 
attempted  ejection  from  the  household  of  the 
Faitli,  because  of  his  unbending  devotion  to  the 
highest  ideals  of  the  doctrines  of  Jesus  Christ,  Who 
had  predicted  this  form  of  trial  as  the  crowning 
sorrow  of  His  disciples :  "  They  will  put  you  out 
of  the  synagogues ;  yea,  the  hour  cometh  that 
whosoever  killeth  you  will  think  that  he  doth  a 
service  to  God."  ^ 

"  If  these  explanations,  which  seem  to  me  reason- 
able, be  admitted,  it  will  be  understood  why  persons 
of  great  worth  cherished  such  deep  esteem  and 
loving  veneration  for  Father  Jerome,  and  even  went 
so  far  as  to  invoke  him  as  a  martyr  and  a  saint. 
If  this  solution  be  rejected,  I  shall  always  see  an 
inextricably  contradictory  enigma  in  this  love  and 
veneration,  since  certain  cavils  have  been  set  forth 
to  account  for  it,  belittling  the  saints,  lessening 
respect  for  them,  even  discrediting  the  very 
authority  of  the  Church  which  has  placed  them  on 
her  altar,  and  suggesting  doubts  regarding  Divine 
Providence  itself,  as  having  permitted  that  some 

1  Lottini,  p.  23. 

2  Romans  ix.  3.  , 

3  St.  John  xvi.  2.  See  also  the  same  Gospel,  ix.  22,  34,  and 
xii.  42. 


CONCLUSION.  173 

leading  heroes  of  Christianity,  in  whom  sanctity 
shone  forth  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  should 
show,  not  only  by  occasional  acts,  but  throughout 
the  course  of  their  lives,  veneration  and  devotion 
to  a  man  who  had  been  disobedient,  excommuni- 
cated, and  condemned,  for  guilt  true  and  real,  which 
he  would  not  acknowledge  even  in  the  presence  of 
death."  1 

St.  Catherine  of  Ricci,  St.  Philip  Neri,  and 
others  of  the  crowned  soldiers  of  Christ,  were 
familiar  with  all  the  facts  ;  they  lived  among  the 
living  memories  of  the  illustrious  Prior;  they 
shared  the  traditions  that  were  sacredly  handed 
down,  in  the  Florence  and  Rome  of  their  day, 
even  by  some  who  had  known  the  Friar  or  his 
immediate  disciples.  To  these  Saints  we  cannot 
deny  holiness  eminent  and  solemnly  proclaimed  by 
the  Church,  nor  may  their  intelligence  or  judg- 
ment be  questioned.  Familiar  as  they  were  with 
the  facts,  a  full  knowledge  of  which  cannot  be 
ours,  prudence,  at  least,  requires  that  we  hold 
their  devotion  to  Savonarola  in  respect.  Other- 
wise the  unpleasant  conclusion  will  be  forced  upon 
us,  of  facing  the  inexplicable  problem  which  Father 
Lottini  piesents,  an  irreverence  from  which  our 
Catholic  instincts  shrink.''^ 

Hearing,  therefore,  the  solemn  words  of  Savona- 

1  Lottini,  p.  23. 

2  In  a  subsequent  work  I  intend  to  discuss  this  subject  in 
detail. 


174    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


rola  that  rise  as  a  last  testament  from  gallows-tree 
and  fire,  —  "I  have  never  been  disobedient  to  the 
Roman  Church,  nor  to  the  Pope,  nor  to  any  of  my 
superiors  up  to  this  present  hour ;  and  this  I  say, 
not  to  praise  myself,  but  for  truth's  sake,  and  if  I 
clo  not  speak  the  truth,  I  am  satisfied  that  it  will 
stand  against  me  at  the  tribunal  of  Jesus  Christ,"  ^ 
—  we  conclude,  with  Father  Lottini,  that  "this 
leaves  no  middle  course.  Either  the  innocence  of 
the  Friar  must  be  recognized,  or  to  so  many  other 
charges  against  him  must  be  added  those  of  liar 
and  perjurer."  2 

1  Letter  of  June  19,  1497  ;  see  page  83. 

2  Page  15. 


APPENDIX  I. 


THE  QUESTION  OF  OBEDIEXCE. 

FOR  a  better  iinderstanding  of  our  inquiry,  it  is 
deemed  advisable  to  consider  briefly  the  obliga- 
tions and  limits  of  obedience,  especially  for  an  ecclesi- 
astic or  religious.  Faith  does  not  repudiate  reason,  nor 
does  religion  abrogate  justice.  Eather  is  religion  fidel- 
ity to  reason  and  justice.  Our  service  of  God  must  be 
reasonable.-^  Thus  the  clerical  state  or  that  of  a  reli- 
gious Order  does  not  impose  an  arbitrar}'  burden  on  the 
man  vowed  to  its  service.  The  '-blind  obedience  ''  of 
which  the  Saints  speak  in  terms  of  ardent  praise  does  not 
mean  an  actual  submission  to  any  and  every  possible 
command ;  it  signifies,  rather,  that  disposition  of  heart 
and  mind  whereby  the  subject  holds  himself  in  constant 
readiness  to  fulfil  all  that  obedience  will  lawfully  im- 
pose on  him,  without  question  as  to  the  superior's 
motives  or  as  to  the  opportuneness  of  his  order. 

After  quoting  the  xlpostolic  words,  "  it  bohooveth  us  to 
obey  God  rather  than  man,"^  St.  Thomas  explicitly 
teaches  that  we  are  not  obliged  to  obe}^  superiors  in  all 
things,  as  when  they  command  what  is  wrong,  or  be- 
yond their  right  or  jurisdiction.     He  says  that  re- 

1  Romans  xii.  1. 

2  Acts  of  the  Apostles  v.  9. 


176    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


ligious  profess  obedknce  so  that  they  may  lead  a 
regular  life  according  to  a  rule  by  which  they  are 
subject  to  superiors  ;  and  obedience  following  this  is 
sufficient  for  salvation.  If  in  other  things  they  wish 
to  obey,  provided  it  is  not  against  their  rule  or  contrary 
to  God's  law,  for  this  would  be  sinful,  such  obedience 
belongs  to  the  domain  of  perfection.  Hence  the  An- 
gelic Doctor  concludes  that  obedience  may  be  dis- 
tinguished as  threefold:  («)  that  which  is  sufficient 
for  salvation,  (b)  that  which  is  perfect,  in  all  things 
lawful,  and  (c)  that  which  is  indiscreet,  even  in  things 
unlawful.^  Hence  the  accepted  phrase  as  to  the  strict 
obligation  of  things  according  to  the  rule,  but  not  of 
those  against,  above,  or  beyond  the  scope  of  the  rule. 

To  the  teaching  of  the  Angelic  Doctor  on  the  rights 
of  conscience,  we  shall  also  briefly  refer.  Conscience 
is  the  divine  law  of  the  intellect,  first  and  supreme, 
and  as  interior,  antecedent,  spiritual,  and  eternal,  it  is 
in  itself  superior  to  the  exterior,  subsequent,  corporal 
bond  of  obedience  to  a  prelate,  which  is  temporarj^,  and 
which  will  not  enter  into  eternity.  Conscience  is  as 
the  light  of  God's  countenance  signed  upon  us,^  and, 
when  certain,  obliges  us  simply  and  absolutely,  as 
against  a  superior's  command  in  contradiction  to  it.^ 

It  is  also  one  thing  to  judge  a  superior's  commands, 
and  another  to  judge  ourselves  as  to  their  fulfilment. 
In  this  latter  case  the  tribunal  of  conscience  is  supreme.'* 
And  this  principle  holds  with  special  force  when  re- 

1  2a  2«,  q.  104,  art.  5. 

2  Psalm  iv.  7. 

^  Qusestiones  Disputatae :  de  Veritate,  q.  17,  quinque  articuli 
de  conscientia,  torn,  ii.,  89-92. 

4  St.  Thomas,  loc,  cit.,  art.  5,  concl.  ad  4.  See  also  1*  2*,  q. 
71,  art.  6,  ad  4 ;  In  2  Sent.  D.  24,  q.  2,  a.  4,  and  D.  39,  q.  3,  a.  3. 


APPENDIX  I. 


177 


sistance  brings  with  it  no  convenience  or  selfish  benefit, 
but  rather  leads  to  humiliation  and  death. 

To  this  teaching  of  St.  Thomas  we  add  a  few  selec- 
tions from  St.  Bernard  and  from  eminent  canonists 
and  theologians  treating  ex  professo  of  obedience. 
The  Mellifluous  Doctor,  as  the  great  Founder  of  the 
Cistercians  is  called,  discusses  the  question  of  obedience 
in  various  parts  of  his  writings,  and  we  quote  from  one 
and  another  of  these  the  foHowing:  The  command  or 
prohibition  of  a  prelate  may  not  exceed  the  limits  of  the 
profession  made  by  the  subject,  so  that  a  religious  may 
not  be  forbidden  the  fulfilment  of  what  he  has  vowed 
to  perform,  nor  may  obligations  exceeding  the  weight  of 
this  burden  be  put  upon  him.  Thus  the  superior  can 
neither  increase  one's  vow  against  his  will,  nor  diminish 
it  without  certain  necessity."  ^  In  another  place  the 
holy  abbot  declares  that  we  must  resist  aught  enjoined 
that  is  against  the  Divine  law,  crjnng  out  with  the 
Apostle,  that  it  is  better  to  obe}^  God  than  man.^  From 
a  long  letter  addressed  to  a  monk  named  Adam  who  went 
on  a  pilgrimage,  contrary  to  his  rule,  but  with  the  Pope's 
license,  several  extracts  will  be  pertinent:^  ^'It  is 
very  perverse  to  claim  to  be  obedient  when  one  knows 
that  the  Divine  Superior  (God  above  man)  dissolves 
such  obligations,"  as  are  permitted  or  imposed  by  an 
earthly  superior,  against  our  pledged  rule.  Speaking 
with  all  reverence  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  on  whose  per- 
mission this  monk  had  based  his  justification  for  what  he 
called  an  act  of  obedience,  St.  Bernard  indignantly  re- 
minds Adam  of  the  scandal  of  such  obedience,  and  of 

^  De  PraBcepto  et  Dispensatione,  c.  v.,  p.  75,  torn.  iv. 
2  Sermones  do  Diversis,  xli.,  p.  281,  torn.  ii. 
^  Epistola  7,  pp.  11-14,  toni.  1. 

12 


178    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


the  rights  of  the  great  High  Priest,  who  shed  His 
Blood  for  our  ransom.  Happy  disobedience,"  cries 
out  the  holy  doctor,  "  which  wounds  neither  charity  nor 
unity,  which  is  to  be  preferred  to  that  obedience  that 
leads  to  scandal ! "  And  he  adds  that  if  he  had  to 
choose,  under  such  conditions,  he  would  be  disobedient. 

"Conscience,"  he  writes  elsewhere,  "is  man's  in- 
separable companion,  bearing  with  him  the  deposit 
committed  to  his  keeping ;  ^  it  is  a  book  superior  to  all 
other  books."  ^ 

To  these  vigorous  words  of  a  Saint  eminent  as  the 
uncompromising  vindicator  of  the  rights  of  authority, 
we  add  the  following:  Against  conscience,  even  the 
Pope  is  not  to  be  obeyed.^  But  where  conscience  is 
not  certain,  if  the  Pope  commands  an  ecclesiastic  in 
spiritual  matters,  to  do  what  seems  unjust,  he  must  be 
obeyed,  unless  the  precept  would  involve  sin,  or  savor 
of  heresy ;  or  unless  it  was  very  strongly  presumed 
that  the  peace  of  the  Church  would  be  disturbed,  or 
occasion  would  be  given  from  which  future  evils  might 
spring,  to  the  harm  of   religion.'*     Even  should  a 

1  De  Moribus  et  Officio  Epis.  et  Praelat.,  cap.  vi.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  29. 

2  De  Interiori  Domo,  cap.  xv.,  torn,  v.,  p.  152. 

3  Panormitanus,  c.  44,  Inquisitioni,  torn,  vii.,  248. 

*  Panormitanus,  loc.  cit. ;  Innocentius  IV.,  1.  v.,  t.  89,  cap- 
Inquisitioni,  p.  cxlvi  (primo) ;  Sandaeus,  c.  44,  ii.,  1220  ;  Prieras, 
Obedientia,  q.  v.,  ii.,  250,  who  adds  that  obedience  is  not  to  be 
yielded  to  such  commands  as  are  excepted  in  the  text,  even 
though  imposed  under  threat  of  excommunication  latre  senten- 
tioi,  to  be  incurred  by  the  very  fact  of  refusal.  In  other  re- 
spects the  language  of  Pope  Innocent  the  Fourth,  Sandneus,  and 
Prieras  is  almost  identical.  In  sentiment  all  are  as  a  unit. 
Gerson  (Consideratio  6,  Circa  Materiam  Excommunieationum 
et  Irregularitatum)  stood  for  the  same  principle.  It  is  the 
general  teaching  of  theology. 


APPENDIX  I. 


179 


superior  command  what  is  just  if  the  subject,  with  a 
certain:  conscience,  believes  that  the  precept  is  unjust, 
and  cannot  bring  himself  to  another  mind,  he  should 
follow  his  interior  light,  despite  its  erroneousness.^  Of 
course,  such  erroneousness  must  be  inculpable.  How- 
ever, as  Panormitanus  adds,  the  superior  has  the 
right  to  inflict  punishment  for  such  resistance,  because 
he  is  not  obliged  to  see  things  with  the  subject's  eyes. 
In  doubt  as  to  the  justice  or  lawfulness  of  a  precept, 
the  subject  should  obey,  because  the  right  to  command 
rests  with  the  superior;  nor  can  he  be  denied  this,  on 
a  mere  doubt.  "But,"  writes  St.  Alphonsus,  ''the 
doctors  generally  limit  this  princii^le,  and  teach  that 
a  subject  is  not  bound  to  obey  when  he  would  thereby 
expose  himself  or  others  to  the  danger  of  grave  loss  in 
reputation,  honor,  possessions,  or  life."  ^ 

Passerini,  who  is  an  eminent  authority  of  modern 
times,  proposes  a  question:  Is  a  subject  bound  to  obey 
a  prelate  commanding  him  to  do  a  prohibited  work,  in 
which  the  prelate  can  dispense?"  After  giving  differ- 
ent solutions  in  which  an  affirmative  answer  would  hold, 
he  concludes :  ''If  the  dispensation  is  neither  useful  nor 
necessary /or  a  greater  good,  the  prelate,  being  bound 
to  remove  impediments  to  such  good,  would  rather  put 
these  in  its  way  by  unreasonably  dispensing,  and 
therefore  the  subject  would  be  justified  in  refusing."  ^ 

1  Panormitanus,  c.  v.,  Ad  Aures,  torn,  ii.,  38,  and  doctors 
generally. 

2  L.  v.,  c.  i.,  diih.  4,  n.  47,  1,  803,  where  he  cites  Lessius,  San- 
chez, Castro-Palao,  Soto,  Bannez,  the  Salnianticenses,  and  other 
eminent  doctors.  See  also  Passerini,  q.  186,  art.  8,  n.  329,  tom. 
i.,  15:3. 

Passerini,  q.  18-5,  a.  2,  n.  Gl,  tom.  i.,  134,  Compare  also  St. 
Alphonsus,  1.  jv.,  c.  i.,  dub.  4,  n.  40,  i.,  799. 


180    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED^ 


As  our  discussion  is  not  on  the  extreme  perfection  of 
obedience  in  theory,  but  on  the  principles  that  are  to  be 
applied  in  a  grave  practical  difficulty,  we  dismiss  this 
portion  of  the  subject  with  a  summary,  in  the  words 
of  Cardinal  iS^ewman  :  "  Co-nscience  is  a  messenger  from 
Him  Who  both  in  nature  and  in  grace  speaks  to  us 
behind  a  veil,  and  teaches  and  rules  us  by  His  repre- 
sentatives. Conscience  is  the  aboriginal  vicar  of  Christ, 
a  prophet  in  its  informations,  a  monarch  in  its  peremp- 
toriness,  a  priest  in  its  blessings  and  anathemas;  and 
even  though  the  eternal  priesthood  throughout  the 
Church  could  cease  to  be,  in  it  the  sacerdotal  principle 
would  remain,  and  would  have  a  sway."  ^ 

The  reader  will  thus  understand  the  imperative 
power  and  binding  force  of  this  law  of  nature,  from 
which  even  God  will  not  dispense,^  against  which  no 
one  can  act  without  incurring  the  risk  of  eternal  death,^ 
and  according  to  which  one  must  regulate  all  his 
thoughts,  words  and  actions,  since  ''all  that  is  not  of 
faith  (or  conscience)  is  sin."  * 

The  reader  is  also  asked  to  make  careful  application 
of  these  principles  to  Savonarola's  case.  Our  argument 
and  conclusion,  insomuch  as  obedience  is  in  question, 
are  based  on  these. 

1  A  letter  addressed  to  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  p,  57 
(London,  1875). 

^  Salmanticenses,  Tr.  xx.,  cap.  iv.,  punct.  3,  n.  11-18,  torn,  v., 
pp.  19-21. 

3  The  Fourth  Council  of  Lateran,  quoted  by  Cardinal  New- 
man, loc.  cit. 

*  Romans  xiv.  23.  So  St.  Thomas  interprets  and  explains 
the  Apostle's  word.  See  Quaestiones  Disputatse,  de  Veritate, 
q.  xvii.,  art.  3. 


APPENDIX  II. 


SOilE  OEIGIXAL  LETTEES. 

The  two  following  letters  were  addressed  bv  the  Signory  to  the 
Cardinal  Prot-ector  of  the  Dominican  Order  in  behalf  of  Savona- 
rola that  he  might  be  permitted  to  resume  his  preaching.  See 
Chapter  I.,  p.  49. 

Keverexdissime  IX  Christo  Pater  et  Domixe,  — 
Ilia  tandem  multo  esse  gratiora  beneficia  videntur  quae 
iiltro  coiifemntur,  neque  expectant  ut  emantiir  precibus  ; 
ut  modo  evenit :  quod  ex  litteris  quas  ad  fratrem  Hie- 
ronymum  Ferrariensem  Vestra  reverendissima  Pater- 
nitas  scripsit  plane  percepimus.  Dum  enim  illi  merito 
favet  R.  D.  V.  et  iure  defendit,  nobis  favet  atque  affert 
beneficium  ;  per  quem,  Deo  clementissimo  indulgente, 
atque  eas  sua  ineffabili  misericordia  subministrante 
vires,  ex  multis  magnisque  periculis  evasimus.  Hunc 
certe  virum  suum  ad  nos  praemisit  Deus  (cum,  quo  nos 
ducerent  nostra  errata,  multo  ante  praevideret),  ne  fun- 
ditis  periremus  :  qui  saepe  praedixit  nobis  quae  Ven- 
tura super  nos  essent,  neque  a  vero  quicquam  aberravit  ; 
iuvit  consilio,  bonitate  ac  religione  ;  erexit  doctrina 
ac  praedicatione  continua  in  timore  Dei.  Et  tamen 
ausi  sunt  malivoli  quidam  atque  invidi  tantae  virtuti 
detrahere  et  ingerere  crimina,  et  adducere  eum  pro 
viribus  in  Pontificis  Maximi  indignationem.  Nos  me- 
lius qui  mores  sint  huius  viri  novimus,  quae  pietas, 
quae  religio,   quae  sanctitas,  quibuscum  vixit,  apud 


182    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


quos  tot  tantaque  bona  opera  exercuit  exercetqiie  et 
plane  divina  ;  qiiibus  adliibenda  fides  videtiir  magis 
quam  fiigitivis  quibusdam,  nt  ita  dixerimus,  qui  nec 
quae  recte  fiunt  cognoscunt,  et  ab  Dei  timore  aberrant. 
Agimus  ergo  imniortales  gratias  K.  P.  V.,  qui  iustis- 
simum  eius  patrocinium  susceperit  apud  Pontificis 
Maximi  Sanctitatem ;  et  raultum  etiam  atque  etiam 
rogamus,  ut  in  eo  incoepto  perseveret  E..  D.  V.,  quae 
nihil  quod  magis  secundum  Deum  sit  facere  potest. 
Nos  certe,  nihil  est  quod  aeque  cupiamus  quam  audire 
eum  ut  solemus  praedicantem,  et  divina  nobis  prae- 
cepta  aperientem.  Rogamus  ergo  P.  V.  ut  in  dando 
nobis,  beneficio  perseveret  V.  R.  D.,  detque  operam 
apud  Summum  Pontificem,  et  quam  citius  fieri  potest, 
ut  ante  adventum  Domini  liceat  nobis,  per  vestram 
operam  et  pontificiam  benignitatem,  redire  ad  eius 
audiendas  frequentandasque  praedicationes  :  nihil  om- 
nibus ex  rebus  magis  expetimus,  nihil  ex  quo  magis 
nos  sibi  obnoxios  V.  P.  reddere  possit.  Multa  sunt 
vestra  in  nos  et  innumerabilia  maxima  boneficia ;  sed 
huic  certe  comparari  nullum  potest.  Commendamus 
R.  P.  V.  urbem  et  populum  nostrum.  Ex  Palatio  nos- 
tro,  die  13  novembris  1495. 

Reverendissimo  IX  Christo  Patri,  Cardixali 
Neapolitaxo,  —  Quantum  nos,  universusque  populus 
Florentinus  fratrera  Hieronymum  Ferrariensem,  prae- 
dicantem et  divina  nobis  aperientem  praecepta,  ante 
adventum  Domini,  audire  cupiamus,  aliis  nostris  litteris 
ad  reverendissimam  Dominationem  Vestram  praescri[)- 
simus.  Cui  desiderio  nostro  etsi  certo  scimus,  Earn 
totis  viribus,  ut  satisfiat,  operam  ad  Summum  Pontifi- 


APPEXDIX  II. 


183 


cem  daturam ;  brevitas  tamen  temporis  diibitare  nos 
facit,  ce  ante  ipsius  adventus  incipiat  dies  decurrere 
qiiam  Poutilicis  litterae  ad  hoc  irapetrentur.  Itaqiie 
reverendissimam  Dominationem  Vestrain  plurimum 
etiam  atque  etiam  rogamiis  oramiisqne,  ut  vivae  vocis 
oraculo  id,  interim,  a  Summo  Pontifice  ut  concedatur 
impetrare  curet.  Xihil  profecto  est  quod  hoc  tempore 
magis  desideretur  a  nobis  ;  nihil  ex  quo  magis  E.  D. 
V.  nos  sibi  reddat  obnoxios.  Cumulabit  certe  hoc  in- 
numerabilia  ac  maxima  beneficia  P.  V.  erga  nos,  quae 
hoc  uno  immortal ia  utique  reddentur.  Ex  Palatio  nos- 
tro,  die  17  novembris  1495. 

The  three  following  letters  bear  testimony  to  Savonarola's  great 
merits  as  a  preaclier,  to  his  noble  efforts  for  virtue,  and  to  the 
ingratitude  and  calumny  of  those  who  had  accused  him.  The 
Ten  also  deny  that  Savonarola  had  attacked  any  one  by  name. 
See  Chapter  I.,  pp.  62,  66. 

The  Ten  to  Bef^chi} 

DoMixo  RicciARDO  DE  Becchis,  die  prima  aprilis 
1497. 

Li  di  Sancti  et  poi  le  feste  sono  suti  causa  che  hab- 
biamo  qualche  di  differito  lo  scrivervi,  Farenlo  al 
presente,  rispondendo  a  ii  vostre  de'  xxiiii  et  all'ultima 
de'  xxYii  ec.  Li  amorevoli  ricordi  di  quello  amico  di 
auctorita,  che  vi  commisse  ci  confortassi  ad  essere  uniti 
ec,  ci  sono  stati  gratissimi,  perche  questo  e  il  nostro 
principale  instituto  e  desiderio:  benche  qui  nella  terra, 
intra  tucti  li  cittadini  universalraente,  non  si  intenda 
alchuna  discordia  ne  disuuione,  perche  tucti  tendiamo 
ad  uno  medesimo  tine,  di  conservare  la  nostra  liberta- 
^  From  Gherardi.  pp.  157.  158. 


l84    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED^ 


et  il  presente  governo  del  la  cittk  ;  et  a  questo  ognuno 
promptamente  concorre.  Et  se  di  costa  fussi  riferito  o 
scritto  altrimenti,  se  si  riguardera  bene  la  qualita  delli 
anctori,  si  cognoscera  quanto  debole  foiidamento  sia 
quello  di  Pietro  de'  Medici,  sforzandosi  farsi  credito 
con  andare  ampliando  alchuni  abbaiamenti  di  persone 
disperati  et  passionati  sanza  conditione  o  credito  al- 
chuno.  Ma  noi  ci  rendiarao  certissimi,  essere  tale  la 
gravita  et  prudentia  di  quelli  che  lui  si  ingegna  ridurre 
a'  propositi  suoi,  che  non  si  lascieranno  imbarchare 
facilmente  sanza  bischotto.  Cosi  alia  parte  del  lasci- 
arci  noi  governare  al  Frate,  quando  di  costk  s'intenda  il 
vero,  non  bisogna  fare  altra  risposta  ;  perclie  facendo  il 
Frate  egregiamente  lo  officio  di  buono  et  amorevole  pre- 
dicatore,  di  detestare  i  vitii  et  ridurre  il  popolo  ad 
vivere  cliristianamente,  come  ha  continuaraente  facto 
et  con  grande  fructo  et  utile  universalmente  di  tiitta  la 
citta,  sanza  impacciarsi  di  alchuno  particulare  circa  il 
governo  nostro  ;  non  dobbiamo  ne  possiamo  se  non 
essere  maximamente  obligati  alle  sua  proficue  et  sancte 
opere  :  et  tucto  quello  che  fussi  referito  o  scripto  in 
contrario  e  alieno  dalla  verita  et  fondato  da  passione  di 
alchuni  a'  quali  displace  il  ben  vivere.  Et  cosi  circa 
V  una  parte  et  1'  altra  iustificherete  con  quello  amico, 
ringratiandolo  nondimeno  dello  amore  dimostra  portare 
alia  citta  nostra. 

The  Ten  to  Bracci} 
Ser  Alexandro  Braccio,  die  vi  maii  1497. 
.  .  .  Havendo,  ad  questi  di  passati,  li  nostri  excelsi 
Signori  considerato  che  la  era  comincia  pure  ad  riscal- 
1  From  Gherardi,  pp.  159,  160. 


APPESDIX  II. 


185 


dare,  et  che  qui  e  grande  concorso  di  po'veri  huomini 
del  coutado  che  venghoiio  per  il  pane,  iudicorono  essere 
bene  ad  proposito  obviare  clie  numero  di  gente  non  si 
coadunassino  insieme  in  luoglii  strecti,  per  obviare 
ogni  sospecto  di  morbo.  Et  per  questo  generalmente 
sospesono,  dal  di  dell'  Ascensione  innanzi,  il  predicare 
in  tanti  luoglii.  Di  clie  segui  che,  dovendo  giovedi 
mactina  predicare  fra  Girolamo,  per  alchuni  giovani 
schaprestati,  che  mal  volentieri  odono  le  reprehensioue 
de'  vitii  lore,  fu  per  diversi  modi  tentato  impedirli  il 
predicare  :  il  che  dispiacque  a  molti  che  desiderano  bene 
vivere,  et  funne  qualche  poco  di  romore  :  a  che  fu  per 
la  Signoria  subito  provisto.  Di  che  ci  e  parso  darvi 
notitia,  ad  fine  che,  se  etiara  di  questo  si  parlassi  di 
costa  altrimenti,  possiate  iustificare  la  verita.  Et  alia 
Sautita  di  Xostro  Signore  farete  intendere,  che  fra 
Girolamo,  per  le  cagioni  sopradecte,  soprasedera  in 
questi  caldi  il  predicare  ;  ancor  che  nel  predicare  suo 
circa  la  particularity  della  Sua  Santita  si  sia  sempre 
portato  prudentemeute  et  gravemeute ;  et  chi  li  ha 
exjjosto  costa  altrimenti,  lo  ha  facto  mosso  piii  dal  la 
passione  che  dalla  propria  verita  ec.  Circa  la  querela 
factaci  dal  Papa,  secondo  ne  significate  per  lettere  ad 
parte,  del  modo  del  predicare  di  fra  Girolamo,  sanza 
quella  reverentia  si  convieue  verso  la  Sua  Santita,  ben- 
che  di  sopra  incidentemente  vi  se  ne  dica  qualche  cosa, 
pure,  per  maggiore  expressioue  dell'  animo  et  buona 
mente  nostra,  potete  liberamente  affermare  alia  Sua 
Beatitudine,  che  le  relationi  li  sono  facte  non  sono 
vere  ;  perche  essendo  la  prefata  Signoria  prudentissima, 
non  incorrerebbe  in  tale  errore,  ne  etiam  noi  lo  soppor- 
teremo.    Lui  fa  modestamente  lo  officio  di  buon  predi- 


186    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


catore^  sanza  offeiulcre  iiominatanieiite  alcliuiio  :  et 
nondimeno  di  niiovo  li  sara  ricordato  quando  ricomin- 
ciassi  ad  predicare. 

The  Ten  to  Bracci,^ 

Ser  Alexandro  Braccio,  die  xx  maii  1497. 
Per  due  vostre  lettere  da  parte,  una  de'  15  1'  altra  de' 
17,  intendiamo  quello  che  costi  havessi  ritracto  dal 
Cardinale  di  Napoli,  prima,  et  dipoi  dalla  Saiitita  del 
Papa,  circa  quello  si  tentava  di  costa  di  operare  contra 
a  fra  Girolatno  :  della  qual  cosa  habbiamo  hauto  non 
mancho  admiratione  che  dispiacere,  cognoscendo  tutto 
procedere  da  male  relation!  et  information i  che  sono 
state  fatte  di  costa,  et  veramente  aliene  da  ogni  verita. 
Perche,  come  altre  volte  vi  s'  e  scripto,  chi  investighera 
il  vero  del  modo  del  predicare,  quale  ha  sempre  obser- 
vato  fra  Girolamo  nelle  sue  predicbe,  troverra  certa- 
mente  lui  non  havere  mai  particularmente  taxato  ne 
ripreso  alchuno,  ma  generalmente  ripresi  et  detestati  e 
vitii,  come  e  concesso  a'  predicatori  et  e  loro  proprio 
officio  ;  et  non  si  potra  provare  mai  che  lui  expressa- 
mente,  ne  della  Santita  del  Papa  ne  Cardinali,  o  di 
qualunque  altri  nominatamente,  habbi  fatto  alchuna 
spetiale  mentione.  Le  predication!  sua  nella  citta 
nostra  hanno  fatto  grandissimo  fructo,  si  per  essere 
fondate  in  singulare  dotrina,  et  theologica  et  morale,  si 
etiam  per  essere  reputato  di  vita  continentissima  et 
religiosissima  :  in  modo  che  veramente  si  puo  affer- 
mare,  la  citta  nostra  essere  assai  obligata  alia  Sua 


^  From  Gherardi,  pp.  163,  164. 


APPENDIX  it. 


187 


Paternita,  per  haverla  ridocta  a  una  buona  regola  et 
norma  di  vivere,  assai  honestamente  et  con  qiialche 
timore  di  Dio.  Et  pero,  se  dimonstriamo  di  havere 
dispiacere  di  qualunque  cosa  fussi  tentata  contro  ad 
lui,  per  qualche  sinistra  informatione,  nessuno  se  ne 
debta  maravigliare,  perche,  non  volendo  essere  ingrati, 
siamo  obligati  rendere  vero  testimone  della  verita,  et 
aiutarlo  in  quello  clie  per  noi  si  potessi.  Et  pero,  pre- 
glierete  la  Santita  del  Papa  et  il  reverendissimo  Cardi- 
nale  di  Napoli,  et  qualunque  altro  bisognassi,  die,  per 
la  sapientia  et  dementia  loro,  procedino  in  questa  cosa 
gravemente,  et  con  quelle  considerationi  die  alia  dig- 
nity loro  et  alia  verita  della  cosa  si  richiede :  ad  cio 
che  qualche  perverso  spirito,  con  qualche  mala  sugges- 
tione,  non  fussi  causa  di  alchuno  scandolo  et  disordine: 
di  che  di  poi  la  Santita  del  Papa  siamo  certi,  per  la 
sua  bonta,  sarebbe  malissima  contenta,  et  similmente 
il  reverendissimo  Cardinale  di  Napoli.  A'  quali, 
quanto  piu  efficacemente  potrete  raccomanderete  questo 
caso. 


The  Florentine  Signory  to  Pope  Alexander  VI. 

A  letter  from  the  Signory  of  Florence,  to  Pope  Alexander  VI., 
ill  defence  of  Savonarola,  and  in  commendation  of  his  work. 
See  Chapter  I.,  p.  96. 

Sancttsstme  et  P)EAt^^  Pater, — Nihil  unquam 
dubitare  potuimus  de  clementissimo  animo  et  benefi- 
centissimo  S.  V*^  in  nos.  Tot  tantisque  in  rebus 
pontificiam  clementiam  semper  sumus  experti,  ut  nihil 
potuerit  accidere  nostrae  Civitati,  quod  turbare  nos 


188    WAS  SAVOXAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED  J 


posset,  quod  idem  noii  sit  S.  Clementiaeque  V.  mo- 
lestiim  faturiim.  Qua  de  re  scribimus  etiam  modo 
ad  S.  V'",  majore  cum  spe  impetrandi  quae  sup- 
plicaturi  sumus.  Est  autem  inter  ea,  quae  hoc  tem- 
pore Reipublicae  nostrae,  aliter  quam  nos  voluerimus, 
acciderunt  non  iuter  postrema,  quod  modo  evenit, 
quod  Frater  Hieroiiymus  Ferrariensis  iudignationem 
S.  Y%  quod  censura  signilicatum  est,  incurrerit. 
Duae  nos  causae  potissimum  movent  —  altera  est  quod 
non  parum  id  nobis  et  populo  ferme  omni  nostro  per- 
raolestum  fuit,  ut  puta,  qui  ecclesiasticas  censuras, 
propter  Apos.  Sedis  reverentiam  consuetudine  vetus- 
tissima  nostrae  Civitatis,  inter  primus  Ttaliae  gentes 
semper  fuimus  abominati ;  altera  causa  est  quod  moleste 
tulimus  ferimusque  insectatam  esse  boni  viri  quantum 
nos  cognoscimus,  virtutem,  et  dilata  fuisse  ad  S.  V'"  ea 
nulla  honesta  de  causa,  quae  merito  excitare  pontificales 
in  F.  Hieronj-mum  censuras,  si  ea  vera  extitissent, 
debuissent. 

Nos,  S™^  Pater,  multo  aliter  censemus;  bonum  nos 
hunc  virum,  beneque  religiosum  peritumque  rerum 
Christianarum  existimamus.  Diversatus  est  in  urbe 
nostra,  aliquot  annos,  praedicationibus  intentus,  ple- 
beque  ad  meliores  mores  instruenda,  neque  notari  potuit 
(modo  careat  affectibus  delatio)  quidquam  in  quo  vel 
exemplo  vitae  vel  excellenti  doctrina  aberraverit ;  sed 
ut  novit  V.  Beatitudo,  rix  inveniri  potest  ubi  praeclara 
•virtus  careat  invidia.  Sunt  et  in  nostra  Urbe  tanquam 
in  magno  populo,  qui  etiam  virtutem  invertant,  seu 
naturae  levitate,  seu  alio  quovis  morbo,  et  tunc  sibi 
'plus  placeant,  doctique  esse  magis  viri  videantur,  cum 
quid  in  doctos  bonosque  viros  liberius  audent,  quibus 


APPENDIX  It. 


189 


magis.  venia  dancla,  quam  graviore  aliqno  periculo  id 
vindicare  erroris. 

Supplicamus  ergo  S.  Clementiaeque  Y^'  pro  ea  qua 
onmibus  in  rebus  semper  fuit  in  nos  vestra  paterna  et 
divina  charitas,  ut  totum  hoc  negotium  ad  gravitatem 
sapientiamque  V.  S""",  referatur,  tollaturque  haec  ani- 
morum  displiceutia  Civitati,  atque  ista  censurarum 
pontificalium  gravitas  ne  plus  posse' videatur  paruni 
religiosa  quorumdam  levitas,  quam  bona  studia  bonae- 
que  artes  hominum  religiosorum. 

Xihil  est,  Sanctissime  et  Beatissime  Pater,  quod  possit 
fieri  hoc  tempore  a  clementissimo  Pontifice  Christique 
Vicario  in  nos  atque  urbem  nostram  gratius,  quam  si 
istae  pontificiales  censurae  fuerint  benigiiitate,  donoque 
Sanctitatis  Y.  sublatae  ;  neque  illae  solum  quae  seorsum 
F.  ipsum  Hier"'""  taxaverunt,  sed  et  quaecunque  aliae 
quae  ab  eandem  causam  alios  quoque  complexae  fuis- 
sent.  Xiliil  majore  studio  magisque  piis  animi  affectibus 
supplicare  Sauctitati  Clementiaeque  Y.  possumus.  Et 
quia  rem,  ut  videtur  nobis,  piam  supplicamus,  dubitare 
vix  possumus  S.  Y"'  benigne  esse  largiturum,  ne  quid 
animabus  periculi,  hoc  praesertim  pestilentiae  tempore 
possit  contingere.  Munus,  ut  videtur  nobis,  petimus 
dignum  S*^  Y*  et  Clementia  adquam  potissimum  perti- 
net  Christianae  Salutis  cura,  ut  quantum  est  in  S**^  Y", 
nulla  ovis  pereat.  Id  tandem  veri  Pastoris  Christique 
Yicarii  videtur  officium,  ad  Redemptoris  N.  J.  C.  imi- 
tationem,  qui  sese  niorti  spontaneus  obtulit,  ut  nos 
ejus  redempti  sanguine  viveremus.  Neque  nos  hac  in 
re  tantum  volumus  oratam  esse  S.  Y'",  ut  nobis  indul- 
geat  banc  gratiam,  sed  ut  coeteris  quoque  in  rebus  omni- 
bus, ut  semper  ab  ea  factum  est.    Meminerit  Y.  Sanctitas 


190    WAS  SAVONAkOLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


hujus  devotissimae  civitatis  et  popiili  Sedis  Ap.  et  S"' 
Clementiaeque  V*  cui  iios  et  rempublicam  istam  liu- 
millime  commendaimis. 

Ex  Palatio  Nostro  die  octavo  Julii  1497. 

Another  from  Same  to  Same. 

In  respectful  protest  against  the  censure  of  excommunication,  and 
in  strong  appeal  for  the  recall  of  the  Brief  of  May  13,  1497. 
This  letter  also  bears  eloquent  testimony  to  the  merits  of  the 
Friar. 

Sanctissime  AC  Beatissime  Pater, — Ut  primnm 
de  Uteris  vestrae  Sanctitatis  nuncium  accepit  Hieroii- 
ymus  Savonarola,  qui  in  his  ^^filius  iniquitatis  "  appel- 
latur,  ab  Ecclesia  majori  ubi  populum  religionem  et 
bonos  mores  docebat,  in  monasterium  suum  rediit,  tan- 
tisperque  falsis  detrahentium  calumniis  cedere  decrevit, 
donee  defervesceret  ira  Sanctitatis  V.,  et  certiore  nuncio 
intelligeret  non  esse  vera  haec  in  quibus  accusatur: 

in  periculum  animarum  Christi  fidelium  perniciosos 
gravesque  errores  disseminare  et  in  plurimorum  scan- 
dalum  praedicationes  suas  afferre." 

ISTos  enim  testari  possumus  hunc  optimum  in  vinea 
Domini  fossorem,  eos  fructus  ex  ea  colligisse,  quos 
nulli  hactenus  nostra  aetate  colligerunt.  Et  ut  repeta- 
mus  altius,  si  vera  sunt  quae  dicuntur  ''annunciate 
quae  futura  sunt  nobis,  et  dicemus  quod  dii  estis  vos," 
hunc  certe  supra  hominem  existimare  nos  oportet,  qui 
octo  jam  annis  multa  praedixit  quae  eventura  nobis 
erant.  Interim  nunqiiara  cessans  ad  meliorem  religi-" 
onis  cultum  nos  emendare  facileque  docendo,  scribendo, 
praedicandoque  effecit,  ut  deleto  omni  malo  habitu,  si 


APPENDIX  II. 


191 


quis  erafc  in  nobis,  ad  sanctiorein  vitam  proficeremus, 
idque-  continue  peragens  zelo  domus  Dei,  facile  mul- 
torum  iniraicitias  in  se  contraxit  qui  magis  oderunt 
lucem  quam  tenebras,"  quorum  falsis  calumniarum  sug- 
gestionibus  permota  Sanctitas  V.  noxium  hunc  Chris- 
tianae  Religioni  credidit,  cujus  tamen  in  ea  fructus  hi 
sunt  :  docere  omnes  justitiam,  hortari  cives  nostros 
aequali  quodam  jure  et  populari  uti,  insidias  omnium 
in  rempublicam  nostram  detegere,  nec  pati  contra  jus 
Civitatis  nostrae  jura  aliquem  sibi  occupare ;  docere 
parentes  optimam  filiorum  educationem  et  eruditionem, 
ut  digni  Christiano  nomine  evadant,  persuadere  mulier- 
ibus,  deposito  omni  ornatu  corporis,  sequi  Christum 
pueros,  nihil  magis  nosse  quam  gesta  Christi  et  Sanc- 
torum, et  omnes  indignos  Christiano  nomine  e  societate 
et  coetu  nostro  expellere,  pro  quibus  facile  multorum 
civium  et  alienorum  olfensionem  subi-^ns,  accusatus  est 
"demoliri  muros  Jerusalem,"  non  tam  quia  nos  perea- 
mus  de  via  justa,  amisso  relrgionis  duce,  quam  quia 
civilium  discordiarum  banc  causam  habeant,  quae  unica 
illis  relicta  est  via  ad  ambitionem  suam  et  nocendura 
nobis. 

Dolemus  autem  non  posse  nos  mandatis  S.  V.  facile 
parere,  ne  rem  indignam  Civitate  nostra  videamur 
fecisse,  et  tamquam  ingrati  in  hominem  de  nobis  op- 
time  meritum  arguamur.  Accedit  hoc,  non  posse  hoc 
sine  populari  discordia  et  multorum  periculo  tentari,  tot 
tantorumque  animos  sua  integritate  sibi  conciliavit  a 
qua  re  scimus  V.  Sanct'"  abhorrere,  nec  passuram  un- 
quam  nos  nostro  tam  ingenti  cum  periculo  mandatis 
suis  parere.  Grave  etiam  nobis  est  S.  V'"  a  vol  nu- 
tate sua  in  nos  destitisse  ob  haec,  si  quidem  paucis 


192    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


diebus  antea  accepimus  ex  literis  oratoris  iiostri  qiiam 
parato  animo  ea  esset  ad  insiaurationem  Reipublicae 
nostrae.  Nunc  vero,  ut  aiunt,  momento  temporis  ea 
nobis  mandari  audimus,  quae  sine  dedecore  et  periculo 
nostro  praestare  non  possumiis.  Quod  reliquum  est, 
gme  palter,   oraraus  S.  ne    derelinquat  iios,  sed 

causaui  nostram  eo  favore  prosequatur  quo  hactenus 
proseqauta  est,  nec  velit  his  mandatis  Civitatem  nos- 
tram iniscere  et  in  aliorum  utilitatem  ruinas  nostras 
augere.  Nos  in  his  earn  rationem  servabimus  ut  quales 
in  ecclesiam  semper  fuimus  et  fidem  Catholicam,  tales 
etiam  nunc  reperiamur,  id  tamen  significantes  magis 
nobis  cordi  esse  Rempublicam  npstram  quam  aliorum 
commoda,  quo  animo  desideramus  esse  etiam  S.  Y™. 
Sic  enim  securius  illi  et  utilius  toti  Italiae  fiat. 

Commendamus  nos  Urbem  populumque  nostrum 
clementiae  S.  V^*^. 

Ex  Palatio  nostro,  die  4*  Martii,  1498.^ 

The  following  letters  bear  eloquent  testimony  to  the  Friar's 
merits.  They  are  the  work  of  St.  Mark's  Community  and  of 
Florentine  citizens.    See  Chapter  I.,  pages  96,  97. 

Beatissime  Pater,  post  pedum  oscula  beato- 
RUM,  —  Havendo  noi  inteso,  dopo  altre  nostre  lettere 
scritte  a  V.  Santitk,  che  po'  (che)  alcuni  della  nostra 
citta  che  poco  temono  Dio,  hanno  quella  sinistrameiite 
informata,  et  irritatola  contra  il  nostro  f.  Girolamo, 

i  These  letters  are  given  by  Quetif,  pp.  127  seq.  and  122  seq., 
and  by  Marchese :  Document!,  pp.  155  and  156,  and  165-167. 
Quetif  gives  May  4,  1497,  as  the  date  of  the  second  letter,  but 
this  is  erroneous.  We  follow  Marchese  in  assigning  it  to 
March,  1498. 


APPENDIX  11. 


193 


havendo  scritto  alia  Santita  V.  clie  la  dottrina  sua  e 
repugnante  alia  dottrina  Cattolica  et  al  ben  commune 
della  citta,  et  che  la  residenza  sua  in  questa  citta  e  la 
distmctione  di  essa,  con  altre  cose  false  et  inique,  ne 
e  parso,  per  maggior  chiarezza  della  verita  et  per 
giustificatione  della  innocenza  sua,  di  par  plena  testifi- 
catione  a  quella  come  la  dottrina  di  esso  f.  Girolamo 
e  stata  la  salute  di  questa  citta,  et  spirituale  et  cor- 
porale,  secondo  che  per  I'opere  manifestate  appare,  cosi 
in  detta  citta  come  ne'  Conventi  nostri,  dove  per  le  sue 
predicationi  et  essortationi  e  introdotto  il  vero  vivere 
Cliristiano,  et  sempre  ha  essortato  ne  cessa  di  essortare 
alia  legge  evangelica  et  alia  vera  pace  tutti  gli  huomini, 
li  quali  se  seguitassino  quello  che  egli  predica,  saria 
beata  la  nostra  citta"  et  di  questo  ne  rendiamo  testi- 
monio  tutti  noi,  che  siamo  piu  di  dugento  cinquanta 
frati,  la  piu  parte  della  terra,  li  quali  ogni  hora  con- 
versiamo  con  lui.  Et  essendo  par  noi  di  qualche  cogni- 
tione  et  esperienza,  et  havendo  abbandonato  il  mondo 
per  servire  a  Die,  non  creda  la  Santita  V.  che  volessimo 
diffendere  et  sostenere  un  forastiero  se  non  fossimo 
certi  della  vita  et  bonta  sua,  vedendosi  certamente  la 
mano  di  Dio  esser  con  lui,  et  che  il  suo  stare  et  predi- 
care  nella  citta  e  la  salute  di  quella  et  I'augumento 
della  religione  Christiana,  come  appare  per  molti  huo- 
mini prudenti  et  letterati  et  di  stimatione,  convertiti 
per  lui  alia  religione,  et  che  continuamente  si  conver- 
tono  et  vivono  sotto  I'ombra  sua,  crescendo  in  perfet- 
tione  di  vita  et  dottrina,  in  tal  modo  che  in  brevi  tempo 
speriamo  che  habbino  a  far  gran  frutto  nella  Chiesa  di 
Dio.  Et,  se  il  testimonio  nostro  non  e  accetto,  a  tanta 
certezza  habbiamo  fatto  sottoscrivere  molti  cittadini 

13 


194    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


nobili  et  boni  della  terra;  accio  che  la  Santita  V. 
intenda  che  ella  e  stata  male  informata  di  queste  cose 
da  chi  lion  lia  timor  di  Dio.  Et  quando  ella  ne  vorrk  piti 
di  questi,  saremo  apparecchiati  a  darne  non  solo  centi- 
naia  ma  migliaia.  Pregbiamo  dunque  V.  S.  si  degni 
rivocare  le  censure  fatte  contra  detto  f.  Girolamo  et 
favorirlo  in  quest'  opera,  percbe  certo  ne  avra  merito 
appresso  Dio;  et  a  questa  citta,  massime  a  quelli  che 
ban  no  voglia  di  ben  vivere,  fara  cosa  gratissima, 
essendosi  molto  contristati  di  tali  scommunica.  Et  noi 
pregberemo  di  continuo  per  lo  stato  di  Vostra  Santita, 
alia  quale  bumilimente  ei  raccomandiamo,  et  baciamo 
li  S*"'  piedi. 

j^nis  Yestrae  devotissimi  servuli  fratres  to- 
tius  Congregationis  T.  Marci,  Ord.  Praed. 
Ex  Conventu  T.  Marci,  de  Flore ntia,  etc. 

To  the  sentiments  expressed  in  this  letter,  not  only  did  the  two 
hundred  and  fifty  friars  of  St.  Mark's  subscribe,  but  several 
hundred  Florentine  nobles  and  other  leading  citizens  hastened 
to  attach  their  names,  with  the  following  testimony  added  : 

j^me  Pater,  — Noi  cittadini  infrascripti,  a  corrobora- 
tione  della  sopradette  cose,  a  Vostra  Santita  per  gli 
detti  religiosi  et  venerandi  Padri  esposte  et  narrate, 
attestiamo  essere  la  sincera  et  indubitata  verita  che 
dalla  dottrina  del  detto  P.  f.  Girolamo,  nella  nostra 
citta  predicata,  non  la  destrutione  ma  la  vera  salute  et 
pace  sempre  e  proceduta.  Per  la  qual  cosa,  con  ogni 
debita  bumilita,  pregbiamo  Vostra  Santita  si  degni  11 
detto  Padre  dalle  detto  censure  liberare,  come  li  sopra- 
scritti  religiosi  et  venerandi  Padri  piamente  a  quella 
hanno  supplicato.     11  che  per  la  sua  solita  clemenza 


APPENDIX  II. 


195 


facendo,  siamo  certissimi,  non  solo  la  gloria  et  honore 
di  Dio  doverne  risultare,  ma  la  salute  et  spirituale  et 
corporal e,  con  la  universale  pace  et  vera  unione,  di 
tutta  la  nostra  et  vostra  citta. 

I  nomi  de  quali  cittadini,  che  tal  cosa  attestano  et 
confermano  di  propria  mano  ciascuno  di  loro,  in  pre- 
senza  di  noi  sottoscritti,  sono  questi,  cive : 

Then  follow  the  signatures.  Villari  gives  this  text  in  his  life 
of  Savonarola,  Volume  II.,  Appendix,  xlii-xliv,  and  in  his  "  Scelta 
di  Prediche  e  Scritti  di  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola,"  pp.  512-514. 
The  full  list  of  signatories  is  also  there  printed. 


APPENDIX  III. 


A  LIST    OE  WOEKS    TO  WHICH  SPECIAL 
EEFERENCE  IS  MADE  IN  THIS  VOLUME. 

I.  Historical. 

1.  Archivio  Storico  Italiano  —  containing  Documents 
relating  to  Savonarola,  as  follows  :  Appendix  25,  Marchese  ; 
No.  36,  Del  Lungo  ;  Nos.  113  and  114,  Cosci. 

2.  Bayonne,  Pere  Emmanuel-Ceslaus  (O.P.):  Etude 
Sur  Jerome  Savonarole,  des  Freres-Precheurs  d'apres  de 
Nouveaux  Documents  (Paris,  1879). 

3.  BuLLARiUM  Ordinis  F  F.  Praedicatorum  (Romse,  1732), 
8  volumes. 

4.  BuRLAMACCHi  Fra  Pacificus  (O.P.) :  Vita  di  Girolamo 
Savonarola.  This  is  contained  in  Volume  L,  pp.  527-583,  of 
the  "  Miscellanea  "  of  Stephen  Baluzius,  edited  by  J.  D,  Mansi 
(Lucca,  1761),  4  volumes. 

5.  Cappelli,  Antonio  :  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola  e  Notizie 
Intorno  il  Suo  Tempo  (Modena,  1869). 

6.  Gherardi,  Alessandro :  Nuovi  Documenti  e  Studi 
Intorno  a  Girolamo  Savonarola  (Firenze,  1887). 

7.  LoTTiNi,  Padre  Giovanni  (O.P.):  Fu  Veramente 
Scomunicato  il  Savonarola?    (Milano,  1898.) 

8.  LuoTTO,  Paolo  :  II  Vero  Savonarola  e  il  Savonarola  di 
L.  Pastor  (Firenze,  1897). 

9.  Marchess,  Padre  Vincenzo  (O.P.)  :  (a)  San  Marco, 
Convento  dei  P.  Predicatori  in  Firenze,  illustrato  e  inciso 
(Firenze,  1853)  ;  (6)  Scritti  Vari  (Firenze,  1860),  2  volumes. 


APPENDIX  III. 


197 


10.  Napier,  Henry  E. :  Florentine  History  (London,  1847), 
6  volumes. 

11.  ^Jardi,  Jacopo :  Le  Storie  della  Citta  di  Firenze 
(Firenze,  1584). 

12.  Perrens,  F.  T.  :  (a)  Jerome  Savonarole  d'aprfes  des 
pieces  justificatives,  etc.  (Paris,  1856)  ;  (6)  Histoire  de 
Florence.    3  vols.,  Paris,  1888-1890. 

13.  Pico,  della  Mirandola,  J.  F. :  VitaR.  P.  Fr.  Hieronymi 
Savonarolse  (Paris,  1674).  This  volume  contains  also  the 
Compendium  Revelationum  and  the  Lamentatio  Sponsse 
Christi  —  edited  by  Father  James  Quetif,  O.P.  who  also 
compiled  the  *'  Additiones,"  comprising  Pico's  argument 
against  Savonarola's  excommunication,  various  letters  of  the 
Friar,  of  Alexander  VI.,  of  the  Signory,  etc.,  —  a  valuable 
collection,  from  which  we  quote  under  the  heading  Quetif. 

14.  Quarto  Centenario  della  morte  di  Fra  Girolamo 
Savonarola,  —  a  bi-monthly  magazine,  issued  in  Florence  from 
January  to  the  close  of  December,  1898,  and  edited  by  Padre 
Lodovico  Ferretti,  O.P.,  a  member  of  the  Congregation  of 
St.  Mark.  The  student  of  Savonarola's  life  will  find  this  an 
interesting  and  helpful  periodical. 

15.  ViLLARi,  Pasquale  :  La  Storia  di  Girolamo  Savonarola  e 
de'  suoi  tempi  (Firenze,  1887),  2  volumes,  with  appendices 
containing  many  documents  which  are  omitted  from  the 
English  translation  of  the  work  published  in  New  York,  1890. 

II.  Canon  Law  and  Theology. 

This  list  of  authorities  includes  not  only  some  of  the  great 
theologians  and  canonists,  the  giants  whose  names  are  identi- 
fied with  the  science  of  divinity  and  ecclesiastical  law,  as 
leaders  by  eminence,  but  others  whose  more  popular  manuals 
may  be  accessible  to  readers  unable  to  consult  the  voluminous 
works  of  the  masters  which  are  not  usually  found  outside 
of  large  or  specially  selected  libraries.  Various  ages  and 
schools  arc  represented,  before  and  after  the  Council  of  Trent. 


198    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


1.  Alphonsus,  S.  (Founder  of  the  Redemptorists  and  Doc- 
tor of  the  Church)  :  Theologia  Moralis  (Augustse  Taurinorum, 
1879),  2  volumes. 

2.  Anto2s'INUS,  S.  (O.P.)  de  Exeommunicatione,  —  in  Vol- 
ume XIV.  of  the  "  Tractatus  Illustrium  in  utra(|ue  turn 
Pontificii  turn  Csesarei  Juris  Facultate  Juriseonsultorum 
(Venetiis,  1584).  This  edition  may  be  more  easily  consulted 
than  the  older  editions  of  his  "  Summa." 

3.  Bernardus,  S.,  Claravellensis  Abbas:  Opera  Omnia 
(Lugduni,  1679),  6  volumes. 

4.  Raymundus,  de  Pennafort,  S.  (O.P.)  :  Summa  textu 
Sacrorum  Canonum,  etc.,  opera  et  studio  R.  P.,  H.  V.  Laget, 
ejusdem  ordinis  (Parisiis,  1720). 

5.  Thomas  Aquinas,  S.  (O.P.)  :  Summa,  edition  of  Caje- 
tan  (Romae,  1570),  and  Qusestiones  Disputatse  (Antverpiae, 
1569). 

6.  Aertnys,  Joseph  (C.  SS.  R.) :  Theologia  Moralis  (Tornaci, 
1890). 

7.  Antoine,  Paul  G.  (S.J.):  Theologia  Moralis  (Romae, 
1757),  2  volumes. 

8.  Bailly,  Ludovicus:  Theologia  Moralis  (Dublinii,  1829), 
5  volumes. 

9.  Benedictus,  Papa  XIV. :  De  Synodo  Dioecesana  (Romse, 
1755). 

10.  Berardi,  Carolus  S.  :  Commentaria  in  Jus  Ecclesiasti- 
cum  Universum  (Taurini,  1767),  4  volumes. 

11.  Billuart,  Carolus  R.  (O.P):  Summa  S.  Thomae  (Paris 
et  Lugduni,  1855),  10  volumes. 

12.  BoN'ACina,  Martinus  :  Omnia  Opera  Theologica  (Ant- 
verpiae,  1654),  3  volumes. 

13.  BuccEKONi,  Januarius  (S.J.)  :  De  Censuris,  etc. 
(Romae,  1895). 

14.  Cabassutius,  Joannes  (Cong.  Orat.)  :  Juris  Canonici 
Theoria  et  Praxis  (Dublinii,  1824)  2  volumes. 

15.  Claremontenses  Under  this  head  "  Theologia  Dog- 
matica  et  Moralis  ad  mentem  S.  Thomae  Aquinatis  et  S.  Al- 


APPENDIX  III. 


199 


phonsi  de  Ligorio,"  by  the  Sulpitian  Professors  of  Theology  in 
the  Seminary  of  Clermont,  France  (Parisiis,  1899),  6  volumes. 

16.  CoxciNA,  Daniel  (O.P.)  :  (a)  Disciplina  Apostolico- 
Monastica  (Venetiis,  1750)  ;  (b)  Theologia  Christiana  Dogmat- 
ico-Moralis  (Romae,  1755),  12  volumes. 

17.  Craissox,  D.  :  Manuale  Totius,  Juris  Canonici  (Parisiis, 
1894),  4  volumes. 

18.  CuxiLiATi,  Fulgentius  (O.P.)  :  Universae  Theologias 
Moralis  Accurata  Complexio  (Matriti,  1780),  2  volumes. 

19.  D'AxxiBALE,  Joseph:  Summula  Tlieologiae  Moralis 
(Romae,  1896),  3  volumes. 

20.  De  Castro  PALAO,'rerdinandus  (S.J.)  :  Opus  Morale 
(Lugduni,  1669),  7  volumes. 

21.  De  Palude,  Petrus  (O.P.)  :  In  Quartum  Librum  Sen- 
tentiarum  (Parisiis,  1514). 

22.  De  Tudeschi,  Nicholas  (O.S.B.)  :  Commentaria  Super 
Libris  Decretalium  (Venetiis,  1697),  9  volumes.  He  is 
usually  quoted  under  the  name  of  the  Abbot,  or  of  Panormita- 
nus.  He  had  been  abbot,  and  subsequently  became  Arch- 
bishop of  Panorma. 

23.  De  Varcexo,  Gabriel  (O.S.F.):  Theologia  Moralis 
(Augustas  Taurinorum,  1880),  2  volumes. 

24.  Devoti,  Joannes :  Institutiones  Canonicae  (Florentiae, 
1817),  4  volumes. 

25.  Fagxaxus,  Prosper:  Commentaria  in  Libros  Decreta- 
lium (Romae,  1661),  5  volumes. 

26.  Ferraris,  Lucius,  (O.S.F.) :  Bibliotheca  Canonica, 
etc.  (Romse,  1785),  9  volumes. 

27.  Gersox,  Joannes:  Omnia  Opera  (Antwerpiae,  1706), 
5  volumes.  His  tract  "  Circa  Materiam  Excommunicationum 
et  Irregularitatum  Resolutio  "  and  his  discussion  of  S.  Greg, 
ory's  "  Sententia  Pastoris  etiam  injusta  timenda  est,"  are  in 
Volume  n.,  pp.  422-426. 

28.  Haixe,  a.  J.  F.  :  Theologia  Moralis  Elementa  ex  S. 
Thoma  (Lovanii,  1889),  4  volumes. 

29.  IxxocEXTius,  Papa  IV. :  Apparatus  Mirificus  Juris 
Canonici  (Parisiis,  1514),  2  volumes. 


200    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


30.  Kenrick,  F.  p.  :  Theologia  Moralis  (Mechliniae,  18G0;, 
2  volumes. 

31.  La  Croix,  Claudius  (S.J.)  :  Theologia  Moralis  (Ra- 
vennae,  1747),  2  volumes. 

32.  Layman,  Faulus  (S.J.)  :  Theologia  ]\Ioralis  (Venetiis, 
1740)  2  volumes. 

33.  Leander,  R.  p.  (Ord.  Disc.  SS.  Trin.)  :  Queestiones 
Morales  Theologicae  de  Censuris  Ecclesiasticis  (Lugdiini, 
1678),  10  volumes. 

34.  Lemhkuhl,  Augustus  (S.  J.)  :  Theologia  Moralis 
(Friburgi  BrisgoviEe  1888),  2  volumes. 

35.  Neyraguet,  Deod.  :  Theologia  MoraUs  (Tornaci, 
1841). 

36.  Palmieri,  Dominicus  (S.J.)  :  Theologia  Moralis  (Prati, 
1894),  2  volumes. 

37.  Passerini,  Petrus  (O.P.)  :  De  Hominum  Statibus  et 
Officiis  Inspectiones  Morales  (Lucas,  1732),  3  volumes. 

38.  Patuzzi,  Joannes  V.  (O.P.) :  Ethica  Christiana  (Bas- 
sani,  1770),  6  volumes. 

39.  Prieras,  Sylvester  (O.P.)  :  Summa  (Lugduni,  1552), 
2  volumes.  Prieras,  a  contemporary  of  Savonarola,  became 
Master  of  the  Apostolic  Palace  under  Leo  X. 

40.  Reiffenstuel,  Anacletus  (O.S.F.):  (a)  Jus  Canon- 
icum  Universum  (Romae,  1834),  6  volumes  ;  and  {d)  Theologia 
Moralis  (Antverpiae,  1743),  2  volumes. 

41.  RoNCAGLiA,  Coustantinus  (Cong.  Matris  Dei):  Uni- 
versa  Moralis  Theologia  (Venetiis,  1749),  2  volumes. 

42.  Salmanticenses  :  Cursus  Theologise  MoraUs  Collegii 
Salmanticensis  FF.  Discalceatorum  B.  M.  de  Monte  Carmeli 
(Matriti,  1714),  6  volumes. 

43.  Salzano,  Thomas  M.  (O.P.):  Institutiones  Juris 
Canonici  (Neapoli,  1843). 

44.  Sandjeus,  Felinus :  Commentaria  in  Decretalium 
Libros  Quinque  (Basiliae,  1567),  2  volumes.  Sandaeus  was 
Auditor  of  the  Rota  under  Alexander  VL 


APPENDIX  111.  201 

45.  ScAVixi,  Petrus  :  Tlieologia  Moralis  Universa  (Parisiis 
et  Lugduni,  186  7),  4  volumes. 

46.  ScHMALZGRUEBER,  Franciscus  (S.J.)  :  Jus  Ecclesias 
ticum  Universum  (Romae,  1845),  11  volumes. 

47.  Semixarium,  S.  Sulpitii :  Praelectiones  Juris  Canonici 
habitae  1857,  '8,  '9  (Parisiis). 

48.  Sporer,  Patricius  (O.S.F.):  Theologia  Moralis 
(Venetiis,  1704),  3  volumes. 

49.  Stremler,  J:  Traite  des  Peines  Ecclesiastiques 
(Paris,  1860). 

50.  SuAREZ,  Franciscus  (S.J.) :  Omnia  Opera  (Parisiis, 
1858),  18  volumes. 

51.  Vecchiotti,  Septimus  M. :  Institutiones  Canonicae 
(Augustse  Taurinorum,  1875). 

52.  WiGAXDT,  Martinus  (O.P.):  Tribunal  Confessariorum 
et  Ordinandorum  (Venetiis,  1748). 

53.  Zallixger,  J.  A.:  Institutiones  Juris  Ecclesiastici 
(Romae,  1823),  5  volumes. 

54.  ZiTELLi,  Zephyrinus:  Apparatus  Juris  Ecelesiastici 
(Romae,  1888). 


III.    Savonarola's  Works. 

1.  Epistolae  Spirituales  et  Asceticae,  edited  by  Father 
Quetif  (Paris,  1674). 

2.  CEuvres  Spirituelles  Choisies,  edited  by  Father  Bayonne 
(Paris,  1880),  3  volumes. 

3.  I  have  also  been  able  to  command  the  following  editions 
of  various  sermons  :  — 

a.  Prediche  Sopra  Diversi  Salmi  e  Scritture  Ecclesiastiche 

(Firenze,  1833). 

b.  Sermoni  e  Prediche  (Prato,  1846). 

c.  Prediche   di   Fra  Girolamo   Savonarola,  edited  b^ 

Giuseppi  Baccini  (Firenze,  1889). 


202    WAS  SAVONAROLA  EXCOMMUNICATED? 


d.  Scelta  di  Prediche  e  Scritti  di  Fra  Girolamo  Savona- 
rola, edited  by  Villari  and  E.  Casanova  (Firenze, 
1898). 

IV.  Pathology. 

I  have  consulted  the  "  Patrologiae  Cursus  Completus,"  edited 
by  J.  P.  Migne  (Paris,  1844  seq.)  for  the  works  of  S.  Augus- 
tine, S.  Jerome,  S.  Cyprian  (all  in  Volume  IV.),  S.  Gregory 
the  Great,  Boetius  (all  in  Volume  LXIV.),  Gelasius  (all  in 
Volume  LIX.),  Minucius  Fehx  (all  in  Volume  III.). 

I  have  verified  all  the  references  in  Savonarola's  letters  as 
given  in  this  volume,  and  where  his  references  were  general, 
I  have  identified  and  particularized  them. 

For  verifications  and  for  references  to  older  editions  of  Savo- 
narola's Sermons  I  am  indebted  to  Father  Ferretti. 


Date  Due  1 

